Amd §§245.10, 245.20, 245.50 & 30.30, rpld §245.50 sub 4 ¶(c), CP L
Relates to streamlining and simplifying the discovery process in order to enhance efficiency in the criminal justice system, speed up the pretrial discovery and trial process, and promote the fair and efficient administration of justice.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2072
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 15, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered printed,
and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to discovery
rules and procedures; and repealing certain provisions of such law
relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 245.10 of the
2 criminal procedure law, as added by section 2 of part LLL of chapter 59
3 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
4 (c) The prosecution shall disclose statements of the defendant as
5 described in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section 245.20 of this
6 article to any defendant who has been arraigned in a local criminal
7 court upon a currently undisposed of felony complaint charging an
8 offense which is a subject of a prospective or pending grand jury
9 proceeding, no later than [forty-eight] twenty-four hours before the
10 time scheduled for the defendant to testify at a grand jury proceeding
11 pursuant to subdivision five of section 190.50 of this part.
12 § 2. Subdivisions 2 and 6 of section 245.20 of the criminal procedure
13 law, as added by section 2 of part LLL of chapter 59 of the laws of
14 2019, are amended to read as follows:
15 2. Duties of the prosecution. The prosecutor shall make a diligent,
16 good faith effort to ascertain the existence of material or information
17 discoverable under subdivision one of this section and to cause such
18 material or information to be made available for discovery where it
19 exists but is not within the prosecutor's possession, custody or
20 control[; provided] . Material information that requires a subpoena
21 duces tecum in order for the prosecutor [shall not be required] to
22 obtain, and which the defendant may obtain by subpoena duces tecum,
23 shall not be within the scope of automatic discovery for the purposes of
24 subdivision one of this section, and the prosecutor shall not be
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05772-02-5
S. 2072 2
1 required to obtain such material or information [which the defendant may
2 thereby obtain] before filing a certificate of compliance pursuant to
3 subdivision one of section 245.50 of this article. For purposes of
4 subdivision one of this section, [all items and information related] all
5 materials relevant to the subject matter of the charges against the
6 defendant in the instant case to the prosecution of a charge in the
7 possession of any New York state or local police or law enforcement
8 agency shall be deemed to be in the possession of the prosecution. The
9 prosecution shall also identify any laboratory having contact with
10 evidence related to the prosecution of a charge. This subdivision shall
11 not require the prosecutor to ascertain the existence of witnesses not
12 known to the police or another law enforcement agency, or the written or
13 recorded statements thereof, under paragraph (c) or (e) of subdivision
14 one of this section.
15 6. Redactions permitted. Either party may redact social security
16 numbers [and], tax numbers, witnesses' physical addresses, other forms
17 of witnesses' contact information so long as the people have provided
18 one form of adequate contact information contained in materials
19 disclosed pursuant to paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this section,
20 physical addresses and other forms of contact information for any
21 persons contained in materials disclosed pursuant to paragraph (k) of
22 subdivision one of this section, and information that does not relate to
23 the subject matter of the case from disclosures under this article with-
24 out the need to file a protective order pursuant to section 245.70 of
25 this article.
26 § 3. Subdivisions 1 and 3 of section 245.50 of the criminal procedure
27 law, as amended by section 7 of part HHH of chapter 56 of the laws of
28 2020, are amended and a new subdivision 5 is added to read as follows:
29 1. By the prosecution. When the prosecution, after exercising good
30 faith and due diligence, has provided [the discovery required by] all
31 items and information set forth in subdivision one of section 245.20 of
32 this article that are in the people's actual possession, except for
33 discovery that is lost or destroyed as provided by paragraph (b) of
34 subdivision one of section 245.80 of this article and except for any
35 items or information that are the subject of an order pursuant to
36 section 245.70 of this article, it shall serve upon the defendant and
37 file with the court a certificate of compliance. The certificate of
38 compliance shall state that, after exercising due diligence and making
39 reasonable inquiries to ascertain the existence of material and informa-
40 tion subject to discovery, the prosecutor has disclosed and made avail-
41 able all known material and information subject to discovery that is in
42 the prosecutor's actual possession. It shall also identify the items
43 provided. If the prosecution provides additional discovery [is subse-
44 quently provided] prior to trial pursuant to section 245.60 of this
45 article, a supplemental certificate shall be served upon the defendant
46 and filed with the court identifying the additional material and infor-
47 mation provided. [No adverse consequence to the prosecution or the
48 prosecutor shall result from the] The filing of a supplemental certif-
49 icate of compliance shall not impact the validity of the original
50 certificate of compliance if filed in good faith and [reasonable under
51 the circumstances; but the court may grant a remedy or sanction for a
52 discovery violation as provided in] after exercising due diligence
53 pursuant to section [245.80] 245.20 of this article. Nothing in this
54 subdivision shall preclude the prosecution from continuing the prose-
55 cution's investigation and obtaining and disclosing new discoverable
56 items and information after filing a certificate of compliance.
S. 2072 3
1 3. Trial readiness. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law,
2 absent an individualized finding of special circumstances in the instant
3 case by the court before which the charge is pending, the prosecution
4 shall not be deemed ready for trial for purposes of section 30.30 of
5 this chapter until it has filed a proper certificate pursuant to subdi-
6 vision one of this section. [A court may deem the prosecution ready for
7 trial pursuant to section 30.30 of this chapter where information that
8 might be considered discoverable under this article cannot be disclosed
9 because it has been lost, destroyed, or otherwise unavailable as
10 provided by paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section 245.80 of this
11 article, despite diligent and good faith efforts, reasonable under the
12 circumstances. Provided, however, that the court may grant a remedy or
13 sanction for a discovery violation as provided by section 245.80 of this
14 article.]
15 5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no
16 adverse consequence to the prosecution or the prosecutor, including the
17 invalidation of a certificate of compliance or statement of readiness,
18 shall result from the filing of a certificate of compliance or a supple-
19 mental certificate of compliance that was made in good faith and is
20 reasonable under the circumstances. Belated or missing disclosures shall
21 be cured by supplemental discovery pursuant to subdivisions one and two
22 of this section. If the party entitled to the belated or missing disclo-
23 sures shows that such party has been prejudiced by such belated or miss-
24 ing disclosure, the court shall grant an appropriate and proportionate
25 remedy statement pursuant to section 245.80 of this article. A certif-
26 icate of compliance or statement of readiness shall be invalidated only
27 upon a showing that no other remedy authorized pursuant to section
28 245.80 of this article can sufficiently cure any prejudice resulting
29 from the belated or missing disclosure.
30 § 4. Subdivision 1-a of section 245.50 of the criminal procedure law
31 is REPEALED.
32 § 5. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 4 of section 245.50 of the criminal
33 procedure law, as added by section 1 of subpart D of part UU of chapter
34 56 of the laws of 2022, is amended and a new paragraph (d) is added to
35 read as follows:
36 (c) Challenges related to the sufficiency of a certificate of compli-
37 ance or supplemental certificates of compliance filed pursuant to subdi-
38 vision one of this section shall be addressed by motion [as soon as
39 practicable, provided that nothing in this section shall be construed to
40 waive a party's right to make further challenges, including but not
41 limited to a motion pursuant to section 30.30] within thirty-five days
42 of [this chapter] the filing of the certificate. Failure to challenge a
43 certificate of compliance or supplemental certificate of compliance
44 within such time period shall constitute a waiver of that challenge;
45 provided, however, that for good cause shows, the court may extend such
46 time period beyond thirty-five days. Good cause includes, but shall not
47 be limited to, voluminous discovery and the complexity of the case.
48 Denial of a motion challenging the sufficiency of a certificate of
49 compliance or supplemental certificate of compliance, or a waiver of
50 such challenge, shall not preclude the imposition of any remedy or sanc-
51 tion authorized pursuant to section 245.80 of this article.
52 (d) A certificate of compliance or supplemental certificate of compli-
53 ance shall not be invalidated where the people rely on a good faith
54 interpretation of the disclosure requirements of this article, and there
55 is no controlling precedent to the contrary from the intermediate appel-
S. 2072 4
1 late court to which an appeal from a judgment of conviction would be had
2 or the New York court of appeals.
3 § 6. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 and subdivision 5 of section 30.30
4 of the criminal procedure law, as amended by section 1 of part KKK of
5 chapter 59 of the laws of 2019, are amended to read as follows:
6 (a) a reasonable period of delay resulting from other proceedings
7 concerning the defendant, including but not limited to: proceedings for
8 the determination of competency and the period during which defendant is
9 incompetent to stand trial; demand to produce; request for a bill of
10 particulars; pre-trial motions; appeals; trial of other charges; [and]
11 the period during which such matters are under consideration by the
12 court; and, unless the defendant waives such defendant's right to file a
13 challenge to the people's discovery certificate of compliance pursuant
14 to section 245.50 of this chapter, the period between the filing of the
15 people's certificate of compliance and the court's decision on the
16 defendant's challenge to the certificate of compliance; or
17 5. Whenever pursuant to this section a prosecutor states or otherwise
18 provides notice that the people are ready for trial, the court shall
19 make inquiry on the record as to [their] the people's actual readiness.
20 If, after conducting its inquiry, the court determines that the people
21 are not ready to proceed to trial, the prosecutor's statement or notice
22 of readiness shall not be valid for purposes of this section. Any state-
23 ment of trial readiness must be accompanied or preceded by a certif-
24 ication of good faith compliance with the disclosure requirements of
25 section 245.20 of this chapter and the defense shall be afforded an
26 opportunity to be heard on the record as to whether the disclosure
27 requirements have been met. The court may deem the people not ready for
28 trial if it finds that the people's certificate of compliance was inval-
29 id and the defense shows that it was prejudiced as a result of the
30 people's non-disclosure or belated disclosure of discoverable materials
31 and no other remedy authorized pursuant to section 245.80 of this chap-
32 ter can sufficiently cure such prejudice. This subdivision shall not
33 apply to cases where the defense has waived disclosure requirements.
34 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.
