Two prominent downstate district attorneys showed up at the state Capitol bright and early Monday to make the case for Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposed discovery reforms, as Hochul decided to throw a few curveballs into negotiating a budget that will be a week late at the strike of midnight Tuesday.
An extender was passed to bridge the funding gap to Wednesday.
As disagreements over discovery reform drag on, the governor is now pitching legislative leaders on a change that would make it so candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run together in the primary rather than separately. That proposal was first reported by Politico and independently confirmed by multiple sources to Spectrum News 1.
In the wake of her split with Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, that proposal would benefit Hochul in ensuring a loyal pick makes the ticket, though it is typically the case that a governor’s preferred choice makes the cut anyway.
A spokesperson for Hochul did not respond to a request for comment.
Additionally, the governor is also said to be getting more serious about a proposal to allow flexibility for non-public schools working to comply with stricter SED requirements for substantial equivalency, after downplaying talk of such deliberations last week.
But Monday kicked off with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark speaking with state Capitol reporters on the governor’s behalf to make the case for her method of tweaking the state’s discovery laws in order to address what she describes as an influx of cases being dismissed on technicalities.
“I believe in public safety and fairness at the same time, and these tweaks in the law will still keep both,” said Clark.
Hochul’s pitch would adjust the standard for evidence that must be turned over from “related” to “relevant” to the case and create a path for other remedies aside from dismissal for evidence that isn’t turned over. It is the primary snag in budget negotiations.
“The crude instrument of judges, certainly some in New York County, believing that the statute contains them to dismissal, is certainly unlike anything I have seen in my [26] years of practice,” Bragg said.
Bragg and Clark’s trek to Albany came one hour before members of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus were scheduled to hold a news conference doubling down in their resistance to Hochul’s proposal, though they wouldn’t elaborate on if that’s why they ended up on the third floor of the state Capitol.
Nevertheless, down the hall on the Million Dollar Staircase, progressive lawmakers made it clear they are urging leadership to dig in and resist the governor’s push.
They prefer an approach that would codify People vs Bay, a case that established the current law already does provide remedies beyond dismissal if prosecutors prove they made a good faith effort to turn over all evidence.
“We have a court case that is the guiding light for this process,” said Assemblymember Michaelle Solages. “Talking to folks, talking to defenders, we realized that this court case can ensure that dismissals aren’t happening as frequently due to any sort of issues with evidence."
The lawmakers made it clear they are in it for the long haul, with Assemblymember Catalina Cruz echoing Hochul’s statement last week that “summers are nice” in Albany, as she told reporters to gear up for a fight.
“Summers are pretty nice up here,” Cruz quipped.
Also on shaky ground is the governor’s proposal to limit the use of face masks.
After DA Clark managed to pull ahead and avoid questions on the pitch as their entourage made the walk from the third-floor press section of the Capitol to the governor’s office on the second level, Bragg was left to address reporters alone.
“It would help us if we can determine the identity, or enhance someone who is purposely hiding their identity, and I will say in almost every shooting in New York County now, someone is masked,” he said.
Bragg’s comments come as the proposal continues to encounter resistance from those who say the governor’s push to criminalize “masked harassment” with carveouts for those who wear masks for religion, health and other purposes could lead to civil rights violations, pointing specifically to Trump administration policy surrounding immigration and pro-Palestinian on-campus protests.
“Any statues written as in the last draft that I’ve seen kind of codes in for that,” he said. “Those are important safeguards that we need to heed — but I believe we can draft for that.”