New Bill Aims To Fix Discovery Law Loophole, Create Database Of NYPD Evidence

NEW YORK CITY — A proposed legislation from a New York City council member aims to close a discovery law loophole that allegedly causes "unnecessary criminal case dismissals," according to a report.

Councilman Keith Powers' legislation would look to create a centralized database of NYPD evidence accessible by prosecutors and defense attorneys, which could help officials comply with aggressive deadlines under the state’s 2019 criminal justice reforms, The New York Post reported.

The deadlines in criminal cases have been criticized for leading to cases to be dismissed and criminals let out of jail.

Powers told the Post that his legislation is meant to complement new changes made in discovery law that were included in the state's latest budget.

Those new changes include: Require courts to consider the prosecutor’s efforts as a whole in trying to get evidence before dismissing a case, Dismissal of a case by judges if prosecutors did not exercise “due diligence” and require defense attorneys to challenge a prosecutor’s certification that they’ve completed discovery effort within 35 days, among others.

Powers' legislation has added three cosponsors since introduced on April 24, including: Councilwoman Lynn C. Schulman as well as council members Farah N. Louis, Chris Banks and Lincoln Restler.

Currently under discovery law, prosecutors rely on the NYPD to compile the evidence, making it difficult for prosecutors to meet the discovery deadlines, according to the report.

The new bill would task the police commissioner with giving prosecutors credentials to access NYPD’s electronic evidence records. Though, attorneys would only be able to view, download or print the records.

“This bill is a common-sense procedural reform that speeds up processes, allowing district attorneys to do their work and making it easier to comply with state discovery law,” Powers told the outlet.

“Safety is a top priority for all New Yorkers. While we’ve continued to see crime fall, it’s as important as ever that we give prosecutors the tools they need to bring criminals to justice,” he added.