Discovery for Justice is urging the NYS Legislature to repeal its outdated Criminal Procedure Law 240 and adopt in its place Criminal Procedure Law 245, which provides for open file, early, and automatic disclosure of evidence within the control of the prosecutor to the accused. As of today, there are 37 states that have some form of open file discovery, most notably New Jersey, Michigan, Massachusetts, North Carolina, California, Florida, and Texas. Suffice it to say, that in states with open file discovery, the accused are not getting away with committing crimes. In fact, criminal prosecutions where discovery has been open and early are not only more fair and just, but also more cost effective. In states with open file discovery, both the defense and the prosecution recognize that there are instances where early disclosure of evidence may be justifiably limited. Under these limited circumstances, the judge may issue a protective order upon a specific showing by the prosecutor that its witnesses are in imminent threat of danger or bodily harm, with one exception, unless the court gives the prosecution authority to withhold key evidence from the accused. We do not believe, however, that witness safety is only achieved by District Attorneys presumptively withholding the most basic discovery from defendants in criminal cases until trial - when most cases never even go to trial. Instead, we know that in many of the states that have adopted modern discovery laws -- states that include major cities like Houston, San Diego, Chicago, Newark, and Los Angeles -- there have not been reported increases in witness intimidation. As a matter of fact, in these states, witness safety concerns are addressed by provisions in the law that allows responsible prosecutors to seek protective orders on a case-by-case basis. Thus, witness safety can be, and is, achieved without withholding the kind of information that proves innocence, informs pleas, and reduces the likelihood of pretrial incarceration - Incarcerations, which by the way cost New York taxpayers $167,000 per year per inmate at Riker’s Island and $2.7 billion per year to incarcerate 59,237 inmates, statewide. To further exacerbate matters, and due to New Yorks draconian, antiquated and regressive discovery laws, overturned wrongful convictions and subsequent lawsuits costs New York taxpayers millions in restitution as evidenced by the Central Park Five, Eric Glisson, and Jeffrey Deskovich cases as well as cases awaiting resolution like Kalief Browders. Therefore, we ask all New Yorkers in the 62 counties within this great state to join us in our effort to advocate for Open, Early and Automatic disclosure of evidence in criminal prosecutions by demanding that Governor Andrew Cuomo introduce an Executive Proposal to Repeal CPL 240 and Enact CPL 245.
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 04:08:19 +0000
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