Chenango County District Attorney Michael Ferrarese makes remarks at a Monday press conference urging improvement of New York's crime reform laws alongside Broome County District Attorney F. Paul Battisti, NY Assemblyman Joseph Angelino, Christine Battisti, CEO of the Crime Victims Assistance Center, and several other officials. (Submitted photo)

BINGHAMTON - Chenango and Broome County law enforcement leaders called for changes to current New York crime reform laws and are warning the public of proposed reforms to parole, that they say will release more violent criminals and override local courts.

On Monday, Broome County District Attorney F. Paul Battisti was joined by fellow New York State District Attorneys, members of Law Enforcement, Victim Advocates and elected officials, to urge the New York State legislature to adopt the improvements and essential changes to New York’s Discovery Laws contained in the 2025 proposed executive budget.

“The proposal will give our collective offices the tools and resources needed to protect the rights of victims and hold perpetrators accountable, while safeguarding the right to a fair and speedy trial. Keeping the residents of New York State safe is our collective top priority and this proposal is a step in the right direction towards achieving this goal,” said District Attorney Battisti.

According to officials New York’s 2020 discovery reform law, while intended to level a perceived unbalanced playing field, has led to severe consequences that jeopardize the community’s safety every single day. The current unnecessary compliance burden on prosecutors is the strictest in the nation—giving a sharp advantage criminal defendants over crime victims, they said.

“Under current law, courts are often forced to dismiss charges against a defendant due to the strict laws on discovery, which put an undue burden on prosecutors. Sometimes, defendants who have their charges dropped are charged with serious and violent crimes. We must reform current discovery laws to maintain fairness for both the prosecution and the defense to ensure the truth prevails and justice is served,” said Assemblyman Joe Angelino.

They shared an example of this devastation, citing a recent article that reported fifty percent of all domestic violence cases have been dismissed since enactment of 2020 discovery reforms. Essentially cases are being dismissed on technicalities and not adjudicated on their merits. The results are victims not receiving justice, orders of protection being vacated, and an increase in the rate of recidivism, said officials.

“We have witnessed domestic violence prosecutions dismissed at record numbers for mere technical violations on discovery rules, leaving survivors without orders of protection and the justice they deserve. Dismissals for small errors in the discovery process do not serve the interests of justice and leave victims in a worse situation then they were in originally,” said Christine Battisti, CEO of the Crime Victims Assistance Center.

They explained a common sense proposal will ensure that if a discovery error occurs it is addressed in a manner proportional to the discovery error itself rather than as a technical mechanism to have the entire case dismissed.

Chenango County District Attorney Michael Ferrarese said, “The proposed changes to discovery are far from sweeping in nature.” He said “Defendants should not be having their case dismissed when the discovery is not material to the prosecution of the case against the defendant, but rather is a non-material disclosure having nothing to do with the case at hand. The change in the statute will give the court the ability to not dismiss the case.”

He thanked the District Attorneys Association for the State of New York for working diligently and to try to pass this 2025 discovery proposal.

“The discovery proposal that is in the proposed budget will require the defense to show actual prejudice to their case before the court can dismiss the case,” Ferrarese. said. “It'll still be stacked in favor of the defense, make no mistake about that, but at least it will move the bar just a little bit to give some breathing room for us and our prosecutorial staff.”

The DA said some crimes were not being followed up on due to New York’s reforms.

“Misdemeanor crimes have victims as well, and, if you look at the statistics throughout our state, because discovery is so cumbersome many misdemeanor offenses just aren't being properly addressed in the system and it's unfair to the law abiding citizens in this state,” said Ferrarese

The officials also warned that new proposed legislation will make New Yorkers even less safe and allow state officials to override local justice systems and free convicted defendants from jail.

“I also want to mention two other proposals in the budget that I urge citizens to oppose. We're asking you to support the discovery proposals but please oppose the elderly parole bill and the fair and timely parole bill. These two bills have benign names but they are anything but benign to our law-abiding citizens and our communities throughout New York State,” said Ferrarese.

“The elder parole bill will make any person incarcerated, who has served 15 years in the Department of Corrections or prison, and is 55 years old, immediately eligible for parole regardless of the crime the person committed and regardless of the sentence that was given out by the trial court judge— who had the most intimate contact with the details of the specific crime for which that person was sentenced.”

He also said, “Even worse is the fair and timely parole bill, which will change the rules for parole completely. The parole board will no longer consider an inmate's past crimes and will only assess the present risk an inmate poses when determining whether an inmate is released back into the community.”

“If passed, these two bills will have a detrimental impact on all our communities throughout New York State. It defies common sense to release violent predators back into our communities before they have served their entire sentences,” said Ferrarese.

The group shared an example to portray the current state of criminal litigation in New York where prosecutors are mandated to compete in a 100-yard dash with the criminal defendant. “We are expected to run uphill while the defendant is allowed to run downhill,” he said.