Brooklyn Defenders Urges All Stakeholders Be Included in Discovery Negotiations

(BROOKLYN, NY) – Brooklyn Defenders issued the following statement urging all stakeholders be included in discovery negotiations:

“For decades, New York’s previous discovery statute was commonly known as the ‘Blindfold Law,’ as it allowed law enforcement to withhold evidence until the eve of trial, effectively ‘blindfolding’ people accused of crimes and their attorneys.

In negotiating her proposed change to the discovery laws, Governor Hochul has similarly kept impacted people and defense attorneys in the dark, allowing only prosecutors and law enforcement to provide input.

The 2019 laws were the result of years of debate and input from all stakeholders, including wrongfully convicted New Yorkers who were victims of the ‘Blindfold Law,’ the criminal defense bar, and other policy experts.

By excluding the viewpoints of all impacted by these laws, Albany is at risk of crafting one-sided and unjust policy that sets our state back decades. With the due process rights of so many at risk, all stakeholders deserve a seat at the table.”

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Brooklyn Defender Services is a public defense office whose mission is to provide outstanding representation and advocacy free of cost to people facing loss of freedom, family separation and other serious legal harms by the government. www.bds.org

Access a PDF of this statement here.