(The Center Square) – New York’s $252 billion state budget is being held up by Democratic infighting between Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders over proposed changes to the state’s pretrial discovery laws.
The budget is due Tuesday, but legislative leaders expect to blow by the deadline to finalize the spending plan as negotiations hit an impasse over New York’s divisive discovery laws, which set strict rules and deadlines on evidence sharing during criminal trials.
“Things are kind of at a standstill,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, told reporters on Thursday, blaming the Democratic governor for adding policy issues to the now-stalled spending plan. “Nothing’s moving at this point.”
Hochul is pushing to loosen New York’s requirements for state prosecutors to share evidence with defense lawyers during the pretrial discovery process in criminal cases. She says the current law approved in 2020 as part of a slate of criminal justice reforms has led to a spike in cases being dismissed because the discovery rules are too strict.
Convictions on domestic violence cases in state courts have plummeted from 31% to 6% since the law was approved, Hochul said, with more than 94% of the domestic violence cases filed in 2023 dismissed by judges.
In New York City, the dismissal rate has jumped from 42% of prosecuted cases in 2019 to more than 62% last year, according to state figures.
“While crime is going down across New York, crimes related to domestic violence remain stagnant,” she said in a statement on the proposed reforms. “To address this issue and ensure the safety of all New Yorkers, we need to continue funding the programs that protect victims and survivors, and streamline discovery laws to hold individuals who cause harm accountable for their actions.”
Hochul wants to change the law by giving state prosecutors more time to submit evidence for pretrial discovery and prevent criminal cases from being dismissed over paperwork issues.
Some progressive Democrats are opposed to the plan, saying it would lessen the impact of the criminal justice reforms. But Republicans are backing Hochul’s push to overhaul the law.
“The reforms proposed by the governor in her budget were at least a step in the right direction, but once again our colleagues in the Senate Majority have shown they have zero regard for public safety,” Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt said in a statement. “It’s time to stop prioritizing criminals over crime victims.”
But district attorneys and advocates for domestic violence victims are among those backing Hochul’s effort to update the state’s discovery process, saying it will ensure that abusers are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
“These laws have made it harder for law enforcement and prosecutors to do their jobs, jeopardizing public safety and leaving our communities vulnerable,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said. “This is not a justice system that protects the people of New York.”
