March 26, 2025
In January 2020, new, significant changes to New York’s discovery statutes took effect that established shorter timeframes for sharing discoverable material with the defense. The new discovery statute has since been repeatedly amended without addressing its fundamental flaws.
In 2019, before the reforms went into effect, case dismissals in Westchester comprised an 8.7% share of total case dispositions. In 2020, the first year the discovery amendments went into effect, that number climbed to 11.7%. By 2023, case dismissals comprised 14.6% of all dispositions, and in 2024, that number reached 15.4%.
That means between 2019 and 2024, case dismissal rates in Westchester have nearly doubled. This is attributable, in large part, to the discovery changes that took effect in 2020.
(Please note, statistics for the years 2021 and 2022 have been omitted due to incomplete data collection.)
Because of the new timetables included in the reforms, and the way the law treats belated disclosures, judges are dismissing cases even where discoverable material was withheld inadvertently, or where the delayed disclosure was in no way prejudicial to the defense.
Once a case is dismissed against a criminal defendant, it cannot be retried.
On Monday, DA Cacace was proud to stand alongside Gov. Kathy Hochul, Domestic Violence Bureau Chief Joyce Miller, fellow District Attorneys, advocates and domestic violence survivors in support of overdue reforms to New York’s discovery laws.
DA Cacace released the following statement regarding the broken discovery process:
“The discovery reforms enacted in 2019 have turned the criminal justice system on its head. Survivors of domestic violence trust that if they summon the courage to report their abusers to the police, the system will treat their claims with care and consideration. But the system is no longer holding up its end of this deal.
“In Westchester and statewide, cases are being dismissed on mere technicalities, despite the due diligence and good-faith efforts of prosecutors, because of factors well beyond their control.
“While some of the efforts to modernize New York’s discovery laws were well-intentioned, the current system is no longer sustainable. The stories of victims and survivors being denied justice break my heart and should shock anyone who believes in a fair and efficient criminal justice system. I call upon my counterparts in the New York State Assembly and Senate to include needed improvements to our discovery laws in the upcoming budget.”
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