Relates to discovery requirements and procedures; repealer

1 Co-sponsor

• Kevin S. Parker

BILL NUMBER:S3877

Title of bill

An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to discovery requirements and procedures and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto

Purpose or general idea of bill

This bill relates to discovery requirements and procedures; repealer.

Summary of specific provisions

Article 240 of the Criminal Procedure Law is repealed and a new Article 240 is added. Automatic Discovery Procedure and Requirements.

Justification

New York's criminal discovery statutes are among the most antiquated and restrictive in the country, and must be fundamentally revised and modernized. Under New York's current criminal discovery statues, defendants are denied vitally important information, essential to make rational decisions about their pending cases. The limited information they receive is turned over so late that it is often impossible to intelligently investigate, to secure and use any potentially exculpatory evidence, to fairly weigh a guilty plea offer, or to develop a trial strategy.

This bill repeals Article 240 - Discovery - of New York's Criminal Procedure Law and replaces it with a new, comprehensive and internally consistent statute that provides for automatic discovery. Automatic discovery is, in part, the disclosure to the defense by the prosecutor of relevant information automatically and early on in the prosecutorial process instead of after the jury is seated when there is little or no time to investigate or develop an effective defense strategy. Automatic, early and broad discovery helps innocent and over-charged defendants fairly prepare far trial, and will encourage guilty defendants to plead guilty without needless and costly delay. Many other large states with cities ordinarily considered akin to New York - including California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan and New Jersey - have utilized broad criminal discovery provisions for years. It is time for New York to rectify this crucial defect in our criminal justice system.

Prior legislative history

A.10648 of 2012 04/18/13 REFERRED TO CODES 01/08/14 REFERRED TO CODES

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law.