A coalition of New York City community organizations on Monday is expected to side with Gov. Hochul and the city’s district attorneys in the debate over proposed rollbacks to state discovery reforms — launching a campaign lobbying lawmakers to give prosecutors more time to provide evidence to those accused of crimes.
Retired Manhattan Judge Harris Kluger, the CEO of Sanctuary for Families who’s heading a coalition of 30 community groups largely representing crime victims and city retailers said in a statement to the Daily News his group believes the governor’s proposed rollbacks “represent a necessary course correction.”
“Her proposal continues to advance transparency while ensuring cases are not dismissed over minor technicalities that have no impact on fairness. Survivors deserve a legal system that delivers justice,” Kluger’s statement declared. “The Legislature must act now.”
If passed by the New York Legislature, Hochul’s sweeping proposal would, among other changes, hand discretion back to prosecutors from judges regarding what — and when — information defendants are entitled to while a criminal case makes its way to trial.
Since the reforms went into effect in 2020, prosecutors who for years were not required to provide evidence to defendants until the eve of trial have faced the prospect of cases being thrown out if they didn’t adhere to strict deadlines for evidence production.
The governor and the city’s DAs have blamed the reforms for thousands of cases being dismissed on technicalities and people circling back through the criminal justice system. They’ve pointed to data showing the case dismissal rate in 2023, including felonies and misdemeanors, was 62% compared with 42% in 2019.
Public defender groups and legal scholars who recently urged state legislators to reject the rollbacks say authorities are misattributing data. They’ve pointed to figures showing that increased dismissals have only occurred in the city — not statewide — and say conviction rates in 2019 were artificially inflated due to unfair threats and pleas coerced from defendants by prosecutors.
In a letter to state lawmakers last week, more than 80 law professors urged them to reject the proposal, warning New York’s justice system would be returned to an era when defendants fought their cases in the dark.
“New Yorkers could not make informed decisions about their cases, investigate adequately, weigh plea offers, secure exculpatory evidence, or meaningfully prepare for trial before the last minute,” they wrote.
The coalition backing the rollbacks includes, among others, the Citizens Crime Commission, the Times Square Alliance, DC37, the Bodega and Small Business Group, the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, and Women’s Equal Justice. It plans to launch its campaign supporting Gov. Hochul’s proposal Monday.
“This broad coalition represents New Yorkers and the justice system they want to see: fair, functioning and centered around survivors of crime,” Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
“I thank the coalition members, and particularly chair Judge Judy Harris Kluger, who knows firsthand the impact that unnecessary case dismissals can have on survivors.”