Buffalo, NY (WBEN) The state budget is being held up in part by a dispute over changes to the discovery laws proposed by Governor Hochul. A former DA says he’s in favor of them.
Since 2020, the state’s discovery law requires district attorneys to present all evidence and documentation within 30 days to be declared ready for trial. “Offices across the state have to turn over every single sheet of paper, every single document, to the defense attorneys, and if they don’t, then they can’t declare that they’re ready for trial, and if they can’t declare they’re ready for trial, the case can get dismissed,” says former Erie County DA John Flynn, currently with Lippes Matthias. He says there’s been a significant increase in the amount of cases that are getting dismissed, especially in New York City.
Flynn says one new standard he wants put in place is if a prosecutor forgets a sheet of paper and it’s not relevant, the case should not automatically be dismissed. “There’s also another component called the harm remedy where if something doesn’t get turned over and it doesn’t cause any harm to the defendant, well, then the judge also doesn’t have to dismiss the case as well,” explains Flynn. He says another is a good faith exception “where the prosecutor has acted in good faith, then the judge does not have to dismiss the case” if police provide a sheet of paper anytime after the deadline to be ready. “If the DA ‘s office acted in good faith and there was just a miscommunication, or, you know, something got lost in the shuffle here from one of our law enforcement partners,” explains Flynn…