Assemblywoman Latrice Walker, D-Brooklyn, is pictured speaking during a February rally in which she demanded sentencing reform in the state Corrections Law.

Before the state Legislature takes up further rollbacks of bail and discovery reform legislation, a member of the state Assembly wants to spend $2 million studying the 2020 bail reform law.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 2025-26 budget includes proposals to streamline New York’s discovery rules that advocates say has led to too many cases being dismissed because they can’t meet the timelines included in state law. One issue Hochul has raised is late challenges to discovery by defense attorneys that is often resulting in dismissal of cases on a technicality.

There has been increasing resistance to the discovery reform proposal, including a rally in New York City on Monday. It’s unknown if the proposals will be included in budget proposals by the Senate and Assembly when they are released in mid-March.

But at least one Democrat in the Assembly is signaling a desire for further study before making changes. Assemblywoman Latrice Walker, D-Brooklyn, wants a further study by the Rand Corporation to analyze the handling and disposition of criminal cases, including the effectiveness of reduced discovery timelines, and identifying areas for improvement.

“The 2020 Discovery Reform legislation introduced significant changes to the criminal justice system in New York, specifically by reducing the timelines for discovery in criminal cases,” Walker wrote in her legislative justification for A.3453. “These changes were made with the intent to improve fairness, transparency, and efficiency.

However, the full impact of these reforms on case outcomes, staff workload, and overall system efficiency has not been thoroughly evaluated. This bill proposes contracting with the Rand Corporation to conduct a comprehensive study to assess whether the reduced discovery timelines are achieving their intended outcomes. The study will provide critical insights into whether these changes are benefiting the criminal justice system, and it will identify any unintended consequences, such as increased workloads or inefficiencies. Furthermore, the study will evaluate the need for additional resources or technological infrastructure to support the accelerated timelines.”

Hochul also proposed a series of improvements to streamline the state’s discovery process, including clarifying that information requiring subpoenas in order to obtain is not necessary for certifying discovery compliance and that prosecutors may certify once they have disclosed all relevant materials in their actual possession. The governor also wants to expand the scope of automatic redaction to include sensitive details such as witnesses’ physical addresses and personal data unrelated to the case, eliminating the need to engage in lengthy litigation to redact such material. Hochul also proposes reducing the requirement for providing 48-hour notice before a defendant’s statements can be presented to a grand jury to 24 hours. This will help relieve the burden of counties that lack five-day grand juries and which, during extended weekends, do not have 48 hours before a case needs to be presented to a grand jury. These changes will ensure procedural fairness, streamline case processing and safeguard sensitive information.

“Keeping New Yorkers safe is my top priority, and working together with our District Attorneys from across the State we are taking steps to fight crime and hold perpetrators accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Hochul said. “My common sense proposal to streamline New York’s discovery laws will close fatal loopholes that have delayed trials and led to cases being thrown out on minor technicalities, which will ultimately help crack down on recidivism and provide justice for victims. I am honored to have the full support of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York as we go about making these changes.”