Judge Keisha Espinal, the supervising judge of Brooklyn’s criminal court, issued a controversial court order on Monday that could push defense attorneys to waive their right to challenge prosecutors’ failure to turn over evidence in the latter stages of a case.

The order launches a pilot initiative that court officials said is intended to cut down on delays spurred by the landmark discovery reforms passed by the New York state legislature in 2019. But defense attorneys argue the judge’s plan undermines lawmakers’ efforts to ensure people facing criminal charges are not kept in the dark about key evidence in their cases.

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“It impermissibly shifts the burden to the defense to request discovery that by law should automatically be provided by the DAs,” said Yung-Mi Lee, Legal Director of Brooklyn Defender Services’ Criminal Defense Practice. “This order says that our clients' rights to discovery are dependent on whatever the prosecution will agree to in a joint letter.”

View the full Gothamist article, here.