How New York’s New Discovery Law Impacts Court Cases

The State of New York has made some criminal-justice reforms that many say are letting domestic-violence offenders walk on technicalities.

Criminal Procedure Law Article 245 (Discovery), which took effect in Jan. of 2020, established new, accelerated timeframes for the sharing of evidence between the prosecution and defense during the pretrial period. The law requires automatic discovery of materials, establishes a presumption of sharing, and sets specific timeframes for the sharing of evidence between the prosecution and defense during the pretrial period.

According to the New York Post’s Editorial Board, “This isn’t about the no-bail laws, but the also-outrageous new rules for discovery — that is, evidence prosecutors must share with the defense.”

They go on to say “lawmakers (and then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo) put district attorneys on a clock: They must reveal all of their evidence, including names and addresses of witnesses and 911 callers, all relevant bodycam footage and cop memo-books, within 20 days of arraignment (or 35 days if the perp is free pending the charges).”

Plus “prosecutors must also be ready to go to trial within 30 days for violations and six months for felonies. Tick, tick, tick.”

The Post Board continues, “That’s proved a huge gift to defense attorneys, as judges are granting defense motions for dismissal of all charges, even serious ones, whenever prosecutors and police can’t provide every piece of “evidence” within the specified timeframes, even when it’s trivial (say, the logbook of an officer who merely visited the scene).”

So, did the recent reforms to New York’s criminal-justice system “break” it and if so, how will they fix things?

One thing’s for sure. Success or failure in the courtroom or during the settlement process depends on having the very best, detailed information about a case delivered in a timely fashion. That’s why great attorneys and law firms across the country trust the worldwide team of Santoni Investigations. When it’s YOUR case we’re talking about, Santoni will make sure you know everything to maximize the settlement process or win in court.

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