February 19, 2019 (Queens County, NY): Jose Nieves, who is running to become the next Queens County District Attorney, announced today that he supports legislation that is currently pending in both the Assembly and the Senate to reform the rules regarding discovery in criminal cases.
In making the announcement, Nieves indicated that the current discovery rules have historically been misused by prosecutors to create unfair leverage in the plea negotiation process. Some prosecutor’s practice of withholding discovery until the statutory deadline makes it difficult for the person accused of an offense to negotiate a fair and reasonable plea deal and/or to appropriately prepare for trial. “Under the current rules, defendants are not allowed to see key information about their cases such as police reports and witness lists until just before trial”, Nieves said. “As a result, they’re often forced to negotiate plea deals without any idea of what sort of evidence the prosecution has against them – and to try and prepare for trial without any idea of what witnesses will testify against them – and that result is neither fair nor equitable”.
At present, there are two companion bills that would implement a variety of changes to the current discovery requirements in New York State: Assembly Bill 1431 – and Senate Bill 1716 – which are entitled “Discovery for Justice Reform Act”. Both bills have received the support of many criminal justice advocates throughout the state – including the Repeal The Blindfold Coalition, which includes the Innocence Project, the Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, Citizen Action of New York, Vocal New York, Just Leadership USA, Discovery For Justice, It Could Happen to You, the Bronx Defenders, and the Monroe County Public Defenders Office .
A recent report by the Coalition labeled New York as being one of the worst four states in the country in terms of its discovery rules in criminal cases. The other three states were Louisiana, South Carolina, and Wyoming.
Efforts to change the rules have been going on for more than two decades. But with Democrats now in charge of both the Assembly and the Senate – and with Governor Cuomo’s promise to include such legislation in his “Justice Package” for the current legislative session – chances for approval are much improved.
Nieves indicated that regardless of whether the pending legislation becomes law, he will implement similar changes in Queens County when he is elected DA. “I believe in ‘open file discovery’ – which means that defendants will be allowed to see all the evidence against them as soon as the prosecutor has the evidence in their possession without any unreasonable delay”, he said.
For more information about Jose’s blueprint for changing the Queens County DA’s Office, please visit:
DONATIONS & VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Changing the status quo is never easy. It takes good ideas, hard work and, unfortunately, money.
Raising funds to support my campaign to become the first new Queens County District Attorney in almost three decades is, unfortunately, a necessary part of the process. All amounts – $5, $10, $25, $50, $100 – or, for those of you who can afford to do so, $250 or more – will be greatly appreciated (Go to https://josenieveslaw.com/donate/ to make a donation now).
#FairAndEqualJusticeForAll
#TimeForRealChangeInQueensCounty
PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT ELSE YOU THINK SHOULD BE DONE TO IMPROVE THE OPERATIONS OF THE QUEENS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
DONATIONS & VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Changing the status quo is never easy. It takes good ideas, hard work and, unfortunately, money.
Raising funds to support my campaign to become the first new Queens County District Attorney in almost three decades is, unfortunately, a necessary part of the process. All amounts – $5, $10, $25, $50, $100 – or, for those of you who can afford to do so, $250 or more – will be greatly appreciated (Go to https://josenieveslaw.com/donate/ to make a donation now).
#FairAndEqualJusticeForAll
#TimeForRealChangeInQueensCounty
PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT ELSE YOU THINK SHOULD BE DONE TO IMPROVE THE OPERATIONS OF THE QUEENS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE