Cuomo's Proposed Discovery Reform Gets Cool Reception From Defenders, Bar
Neither the head of the New York State Bar Association or the Legal Aid Society support language that gives prosecutors new abilities to withhold information in discovery production.
January 18, 2018 at 02:14 PM
5 minute read
Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Photo credit: Shutterstock
Details released Tuesday in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposal to reform the state's discovery rules have generated pushback from members of the state's defense bar who say prosecutors are getting new tools that undermine hoped-for reforms.
The plan proposed in Cuomo's executive budget Tuesday left defense attorneys worried it does little to address their concerns, especially because it would create a “right of redaction” for prosecutors before handing over discovery material. According to Seymour James, attorney-in-chief for the Legal Aid Society, the proposal “does little to change a broken system that so profoundly favors prosecutors over defense attorneys.”
The governor's proposal comes after a blueprint was previously laid out in the state's Justice Task Force. The task force was formed by former state Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman and, at the time of the release of the recommendations regarding criminal discovery reform in 2014, chaired by then-Westchester District Attorney Janet DiFiore. DiFiore became chief judge in January 2016.
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