Statement from New York City District Attorneys On Ongoing Discovery Negotiations


April 27, 2023

“We all support the intent of the 2019 discovery reforms, but after three years, it is clear the law has had unintended consequences. Thousands of cases have been needlessly dismissed across the five boroughs as a direct result of the changes to the discovery law, which has harmed public safety and prevented victims from achieving accountability in the courtroom. As we have said over the past several years, our offices require statutory changes and additional resources so we can meet our obligations and avoid unintended consequences. While we appreciate that legislative leaders have been open to commonsense changes to the law during the state budget negotiations, we are concerned that the language on the table will not have a meaningful public safety impact. We look forward to continuing to engage in a productive discussion on statutory changes in the coming weeks before the end of the legislative session, and urge lawmakers to provide our offices additional funding so our prosecutors have the necessary resources to do their jobs effectively.”

-District Attorneys Alvin Bragg, Darcel Clark, Eric Gonzalez, Melinda Katz, and Michael McMahon

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