In 2019, New York State made significant changes to its criminal law with the stated goal of ensuring that New Yorkers accused of a crime could quickly gain access to evidence against them. “Discovery reform,” overshadowed in the news by changes to New York’s bail laws, was intended to speed up the pretrial process and allow defendants to make informed decisions about whether to accept a plea deal or mount a defense.
But some of the results of discovery reform are not what the Legislature intended. Data from the court system show that while there are fewer plea bargains, there are also fewer cases going to trial — less than one-half of 1%.
The big change is in the share of cases being dismissed — which has risen sharply, from 41% to 62%. For felonies only, the share of outright dismissals has gone from 28% to 41%. Many of these cases — and others that never even make it to trial — are lost because prosecutors cannot meet the technical requirements and deadlines of the discovery law.
A system that depended on coercive plea deals was no one’s idea of justice — but neither is one where valid criminal charges are dropped because prosecutors are overwhelmed by administrative burdens and forced to triage cases.
We expect that New York’s district attorneys will seek additional changes to the discovery law this year. In light of the data, the Legislature should give their proposals serious consideration, while keeping in mind how the old system often trampled on the due process rights of defendants.
There is, however, one step we can take to reduce the obstacles facing prosecutors that is separate and apart from more thorny questions related to the requirements of the discovery law — actually giving DAs access to the materials they are mandated to turn over.
Right now, New York City’s five district attorneys do not have direct access to the databases used by the police to manage evidence and other discoverable paperwork. The DAs must route all requests for these materials through the NYPD. NYPD employees — including uniformed officers now assigned to each DA’s office for this purpose — are tasked with searching online systems and transferring large amounts of electronic data. This process delays prosecutors who are racing against the clock, potentially jeopardizing important cases.
The burden on the police is also consequential. A 2022 survey by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services found that 69% of police departments spent more time after discovery reform “transmitting discoverable materials to the district attorney’s office.” In New York City, the use of uniformed officers for clerical work is particularly concerning, given that major crime is up a third from pre-pandemic levels, while the NYPD’s uniformed headcount is down 9%. Diverting officers from patrol duties to perform work that could be handled by paralegals is an inefficiency our city cannot afford.
If designated staff in the DAs’ offices could directly log on to the NYPD’s systems, they could pull the necessary files themselves, streamlining the process and freeing up NYPD personnel to focus on protecting the public. Moreover, this would help prosecutors meet the discovery law’s strict deadlines, ensuring that cases are resolved on their merits rather than being dismissed due to bureaucratic delays.
In the early weeks of her tenure, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch has shown an admirable willingness to tackle inefficiency within the NYPD, and she could direct the department to give database access to the city’s five district attorneys. However, bureaucratic resistance within the department — driven by concerns about turf and control — may stand in the way. That’s why we are introducing legislation requiring police departments statewide to give prosecutors direct access to the relevant systems, and we will work with our colleagues in Albany to make this the law.
There is no single policy or operational change that will bring crime down to pre-pandemic levels. But a properly functioning criminal justice system holds those who commit crimes accountable, instead of allowing large numbers of serious cases to fall by the wayside on procedural grounds. When more than 40% of felony cases are dismissed, justice isn’t being served. Opening the digital doors of our police departments to their prosecutorial partners would be a meaningful step forward in tackling that problem and making New York safer for everyone.
Lasher is an assemblyman from the Upper West Side. Myrie is a state senator representing Brooklyn neighborhoods including Crown Heights, East Flatbush and Park Slope.