Hochul, crime victim advocates highlight reports showing ‘urgent need’ to amend discovery laws

Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

Photo by Don Pollard/Office of Governor – Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence released three reports on Monday which they said highlight the need to streamline New York’s discovery laws to protect the rights of crime victims.

ALBANY – Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (OPDV) on Monday released a new package of three reports highlighting the importance of passing Governor Hochul’s proposal to streamline New York’s discovery laws to protect the rights of crime victims.

These reports reflect input from more than 1,400 people across the state, including survivors, their family members, community members, victim service providers, law enforcement and court personnel, and county governments. The summary and full package of reports can be seen by clicking here.

“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. “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.”

The three reports released today include the Domestic Violence Regional Councils (DVRC), Survivor Listening Sessions (SLS), and the Domestic Violence Fatality Reviews (DVFR). The reports identify a common theme: Gender-based violence survivors in New York State need more support while navigating the criminal justice system.

In fact, the Fatality Reviews report shows that some abusive partners have weaponized the court system — a problem exacerbated by automatic case dismissals based on insignificant technicalities.

Governor Hochul proposed essential changes to New York State’s Discovery Law to ensure procedural fairness, shorten case processing times, reduce the length of pretrial incarceration and safeguard sensitive and personal information belonging to witnesses. These changes are designed to protect the rights of victims and help ensure that those who cause harm are held accountable.

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 and nearly 50 percent were dismissed outside of New York City. In many cases, automatic dismissal of cases has put survivors of domestic violence and other crimes at greater risk.

Without changing any of these essential features of the 2019 reforms, the Governor’s proposal to streamline discovery laws will prevent cases from being dismissed based on issues that do not cause any harm to the defense — a situation that is particularly high-stakes for survivors of domestic violence, as detailed in the OPDV reports released today.

For example:

• A domestic violence case was dismissed after the prosecutor did not turn over a handwritten command log, which is where the officer writes their name, the defendant’s name and the arrest information. This information is duplicated in numerous other police paperwork that was disclosed on time. Discovery was deemed incomplete, and the case was dismissed.
• A domestic violence case in which the defendant was charged with third-degree assault for punching the victim in the face and causing visible injuries was dismissed because the prosecution had not turned over body-worn camera footage from an unsuccessful attempted home visit to the victim’s home. Discovery was deemed incomplete, and the case was dismissed.
• A domestic violence and child endangerment case in which the defendant was charged with third-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child for punching the victim in the face, kicking her, and spitting on her in the presence of their children was dismissed because the prosecutor did not turn over an autogenerated document that contained irrelevant, duplicative information that the prosecution in good faith believed was not discoverable.
• A domestic violence case in which the defendant was charged with third-degree assault for pushing the victim to the ground and dragging her was dismissed when it was found that one of the body-worn camera footage videos had not uploaded properly. The prosecution had listed it in the inventory of discovery and attempted to upload it and was unaware it had not uploaded properly. Discovery was deemed incomplete, and the case was dismissed.

OPDV Executive Director Kelli Nicholas Owens said, “The three reports issued today paint a picture from the survivor’s perspective, the boots on the ground stakeholders like advocates, law enforcement and courts, and even those who have been killed by their intimate partner. All these people have their own perspective about how the system is or isn’t working. Discovery reform is one part of the solution. It will give survivors the voice and time needed to decide when to pursue charges. It is about survivors being able to trust the system in place to protect them.”

Additional findings of the three reports released include:

The 2023-2024 Domestic Violence Regional Council report reflects engagement with domestic violence response services providers and stakeholders statewide. Findings focus on how to create a more collaborative, survivor-centered, trauma-informed and culturally responsive gender-based violence service delivery system. The report identifies the following needs:

• Strengthening cross-systems communication and collaboration;
• Encouraging public safety systems to better understand and respond to gender-based violence; and
• Training judges and court staff on the dynamics of domestic and gender-based violence, coercive control, lethality assessments and the role of legal protections for victims. Specifically, the report identifies challenges obtaining domestic violence convictions, including due to dismissals unrelated to the merits of the case, which can leave victims without protection and embolden abusers who learn that there is no legal accountability for their actions.

The Sexual Assault Survivor Listening Sessions report summarizes the perspectives of survivors who shared the strengths and challenges of their experiences with the gender-based violence response system and the impact it had on them. The three most prominently discussed system partners were hospitals/medical providers, the criminal legal system and non-profit organizations serving victims and survivors. Survivors recommended:

• Always having a trained Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE) available to perform forensic exams in all hospitals;
• Comprehensive training on survivor-centered, trauma informed and culturally responsive services for hospital/medical providers and law enforcement; and
• More access to education about rights and resources for survivors.

 NYS Domestic Violence Fatality Review report summarizes the work of the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team, which analyzes domestic violence deaths and near-deaths in a collaborative, in-depth manner to learn from these difficult cases and improve the response to domestic violence in New York State. Cases reviewed highlighted:

• Challenges with the timely sharing of information and data across systems;
• Disproportionate effects of intimate partner homicide on women of color;
• Weaponization of the court system by the abusive partner;
• Insufficient use of bail when abusers’ charges are bail eligible;
• Underutilization of criminal courts to issue Family Court orders of protection after hours;
• Inconsistent application of mandatory arrest; and
• Role of positive interactions with law enforcement in supporting victims to seek help.

Governor Hochul’s plan to streamline the discovery process and protect the rights of victims has already won bipartisan support from district attorneys and advocates. This includes religious leaders; business groups; domestic violence and victim advocates; and law enforcement and legal associations including the New York State Sheriff’s Association and the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York.