“Fatal Flaw” In New York Protects Abusers, Not Victims

Gov. Hochul is warning about a "fatal flaw" in New York law.

The holdup for a brand-new state budget continues.

One of the biggest holdups is changes to discovery laws.

Hochul: Changes to Discovery Laws Will Be In New York State Budget

Hochul promises that changes to discovery laws will be part of the budget, which is now two weeks late.

Hochul's office released three reports that her office says show the "importance" of why she wants to "streamline New York’s discovery laws."

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Hochul believes these changes must be made to protect the rights of crime victims.

“These new reports make it even clearer: we need commonsense changes to New York’s discovery laws to protect the rights of crime victims, hold attackers accountable and make our state safer,” Governor Hochul said.

Hochul believes throwing out criminal cases over minor paperwork issues prevents justice from being served.

Hochul's office highlighted several domestic violence cases in New York that were tossed out recently. Not because of questions over what happened, but because of technicalities tied to discovery laws.

According to Hochul's office, since New York State’s 2019 discovery reforms were passed:

• Dismissals in cases involving domestic violence rose 26 percent in New York City.
• In 2023, about 94 percent of cases were dismissed in New York City
• Nearly 50 percent were dismissed outside of New York City.

These dismissed cases highlight how strict discovery rules can impact prosecutions—even in serious and violent cases, officials say.

“Throwing out entire criminal cases over minor paperwork issues prevents justice from being served — and when abusers can weaponize the court system, the consequences can be tragic. That’s why I’ll refuse any state budget deal that doesn’t fix this fatal flaw in our laws," Hochul said.

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