Lawmakers Have a ‘Framework’ Deal to Partly Roll Back NY Discovery Reforms

New York state lawmakers struck a tentative deal with district attorneys on changes to the state’s criminal discovery laws, potentially clearing what had been a major roadblock to a final state budget agreement that is now more than two weeks overdue.

State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Bronx Democrat, told reporters Tuesday that legislative leaders reached a “framework” agreement with New York City prosecutors, who have been in line with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s position on discovery. A spokesperson for the state Senate Democrats confirmed the tentative deal.

“I believe we worked through and we have a framework on having the discovery issue resolved,” Heastie said.

The apparent deal comes as Hochul continues to insist that changes to the discovery laws — which set deadlines for prosecutors and defense attorneys to exchange evidence prior to a criminal trial — be included in any final spending plan.

The state reformed the laws in 2019 to ensure defendants have access to the evidence in their cases as they decide whether to take a plea or go to trial. If prosecutors don’t turn over the required evidence on time, it can become grounds for dismissal.

Hochul and district attorneys contend the changes have allowed too many cases to be dismissed, at times because prosecutors failed to turn over evidence that was only tangential — and not crucial — to the case.

Heastie said the details of the agreement were still being finalized, but confirmed that it would give judges some leeway to determine whether missing evidence was “prejudicial” to the defendant’s case before deciding whether to dismiss it. He said the framework puts a focus on evidence that is “related to the charges of a particular case.”

The speaker said legislative leaders spoke to prosecutors and public defenders as the deal came together.

”We feel like we came with a pretty good compromise,” he said.

Hochul, a Democrat, stopped short of backing the agreement Tuesday afternoon, but acknowledged there “could be a resolution in sight.”

“ I believe that there’s conversations going on as we speak, which is why I’m anxious to get back to the Capitol,” she said Tuesday in Kingston, about an hour south of the state Capitol, where she held a news conference advocating for her preferred discovery changes.

Heastie told reporters that Hochul repeatedly told him she wanted the DAs to support any potential compromise on discovery. “The DAs seem to be in a very good place,” he said.

The state District Attorneys Association didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. A spokesperson for the Legal Aid Society, which provides public defense and other legal representation to low-income New Yorkers, said the organization has not yet seen bill language and declined further comment.

While the discovery changes have been the biggest logjam in budget negotiations, they weren’t the only one.

Legislative leaders and Hochul continue to struggle to reach a final agreement on another of the governor’s policy priorities: changing the state’s involuntary commitment laws to make it easier to hospitalize someone in the throes of a mental health crisis.

And while the discovery stalemate dragged on, they temporarily tabled serious negotiations on Hochul’s push to create a penalty for wearing a mask when it’s deemed as an intimidation tactic.

“ I’m not prepared to say where we are because we’re not at the end of the process,” Hochul said.

Story by Jon Campbell (Jimmy Vielkind contributed reporting)
Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist.

Image: In this Feb. 27, 2024, file photo, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie meets with reporters. (Credit: Karen DeWitt/New York Public News Network file photo)