(BROOKLYN, NY) – Brooklyn Defenders issued the following statement in response to the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly’s Fiscal Year 2026 One-House budget resolutions:

“Brooklyn Defenders applauds the New York State Senate and Assembly for rejecting in their one-house budget resolutions Governor Hochul’s dangerous proposal to repeal our state’s discovery laws.

In response to decades of injustice, lawmakers enacted a new discovery statute in 2019 to enhance fairness in the criminal legal system and ensure people accused of crimes have timely and complete access to evidence in their cases. The Governor’s proposal threatens to send New York back to the days of the ‘Blindfold Law’ that left people in the dark and contributed to a high-rate of wrongful convictions, case delays, and prolonged incarceration.

As the legislative session continues, we urge the State Senate and Assembly to continue to hold fast against the proposal to repeal New York’s discovery laws.”

Read the full statement here.