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Follow me on this. NY prosecutors are terrified long overdue criminal justice change is about to happen. An end to a law that DENIES evidence to accused people until day of their trial. They're using fear propaganda about public safety. Counter evidence: The rest of the country. 
Yes. So-called "progressive" NY is a conservative outlier. While rest of the country has passed sweeping reforms, NY has fallen near dead last. Bc lawmakers keep listening to NY DA's who just want to keep their strategic advantage. Meanwhile people don't even see police reports:
In New York, prosecutors are allowed to withhold witness statements until after trial begins, and many witness statements never have to be disclosed. Prosecutors get to decide who they we call as witnesses. If they don't a witness, they don't need to turn over a statement. Crazy.
And while witness information is critical for investigating the accusations against you, people in New York may never even know the name of the person accusing them of a crime. We're one of only four states that are as restrictive.
**Not a single state that has passed more progressive discovery laws than NY has gone back to the way things are currently in NY. But if the maps don't convince you, & you don't want to take my word for it, listen to prosecutors around the country, who say NY DAs are wrong. Here:
“I've never had an issue where I haven’t wanted to provide the file because of certain things that may be contained in it. If I did feel that way, I would actually QUESTION WHETHER OR NOT THE CASE SHOULD BE PROSECUTED.” -Brittney Edwards, Assistant DA, Durham County, NC.
"Under our laws IT’S A RIGHT THAT A DEFENDANT HAS WITNESS INFORMATION. It’s the confrontation clause for goodness sakes: They’ve got to be able to confront the witnesses against them." Laura Fulco, First Assistant District Attorney, Shreveport, Louisiana.
“I absolutely think open file discovery is a good thing. FOR SOMEONE TO TRULY BE ABLE TO REPRESENT THEIR CLIENT THEY NEED TO SEE EVERYTHING IN THE FILE. The intent of our new discovery law in Tx is honorable & good. Greg Cox, Director Public Integrity Unit, Travis County DA.
Critically, survivors groups just powerfully pushed back against NY DA's propaganda: "We are acutely aware that too often, survivors’ experiences are exploited when prosecutors work to pass laws to give themselves broad discretion & leverage in court." avp.org/lgbtq-women-su…
Survivors continued: "Discovery reform does not threaten the safety of survivors of assault & abuse. Nearly every other state in the country has passed discovery reform, leading to greater justice & transparency, & not to witness or victim intimidation."avp.org/lgbtq-women-su…
On behalf of my clients, I am asking for you to take a stand against the desperate fearmongering of NY District Attorneys & for real, transformative change. Please visit the following link to place a direct call to your lawmaker to demand action: innocenceproject.org/2019-ny-discov…
If you want to get fully acclimated to the issue, watch 9 public defenders from around NY state break it down.
