1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

Governor Hochul's proposal to amend New York's discovery reform law raises significant concerns about fairness and transparency in the criminal justice system. The reform enacted in 2019 was a critical step towards ensuring defendants have access to all relevant evidence against them in a timely manner, preventing coerced plea deals and wrongful convictions. Hochul's plan to grant prosecutors broad discretion over what evidence to share and when threatens to return us to an era of defendants being kept in the dark about the case against them. Maintaining robust discovery requirements with clear deadlines and enforcement mechanisms is essential for due process. Rolling back these protections would undermine the intent of the reform to create a more just system. Rather than giving prosecutors more leeway to withhold evidence, efforts should focus on addressing the underlying issues like lack of police transparency that can hinder timely discovery. Proposals to grant prosecutors direct access to required records offer a more constructive solution. The 2019 law recognized that people should not languish in jail or face trial blindfolded without full access to the evidence against them. Hochul's plan would erode that principle and the fairness it sought to uphold. I urge you to reject this misguided effort to weaken New York's discovery reform and instead advance measures that bolster transparency and due process in our justice system.