ALBANY — The alliance between progressive criminal justice reformers and legislative Democrats has become strained over potential rollbacks to changes in evidence discovery and speedy trial laws that have fueled a surge in the number of cases being dropped.

Negotiations over a state budget were supposed to have concluded three weeks ago. But the loudest bickering in the process is only beginning as Gov. Kathy Hochul seeks support from Democrats for a proposal that would require prosecutors to furnish defense lawyers with only “relevant” evidence in a case as opposed to all “related” exhibits and statements.

The Legal Aid Society, representing attorneys assigned to represent indigent defendants, lashed out at what it called new bill language that has emerged in private negotiations between the governor’s office and legislative leaders, arguing the latest proposals are far from “nominal tweaks.”

“This proposal would immunize prosecutors from speedy trial consequences by requiring defense attorneys to file motions that stop the speedy trial clock in order to avoid forfeiting their right to potential missing evidence,” the Legal Aid Society said in a statement. “These unnecessary motions will burden courts, delay cases further, and allow prosecutors to withhold critical evidence longer from our clients.”

The evidence discovery proposal was also jeered by Garrett Smith, statewide organizer at the Center for Community Alternatives, who argued it is “abhorrent” and “unacceptable” that changes enacted in 2019 are now in danger of being gutted.

Smith argued that the proposals being pushed by district attorneys “would return New York to an era where prosecutors withheld evidence and falsely claimed to be ready for trial, coercing blind pleas and prolonging pre-trial detention.”

The discovery law was revised in 2019, with lawmakers saying they wanted to bring about a criminal justice system that is fairer for those facing criminal charges.

But district attorneys have told CNHI that the evidence discovery mandates have overwhelmed their staffers to the point that they have produced a “brain drain,” driving some lawyers to leave their posts as assistant district attorneys out of sheer frustration with the mountains of paperwork.

The sharp reactions of the Legal Aid Society and the Center for Community Alternatives suggest there is deep concern that the evidence proposal favored by Hochul could become part of a final three-way budget deal between the governor and the Democratic leaders of the Senate and Assembly.

One sticking point in the talks has been over Hochul’s proposal to provide greater leeway to judges to jail defendants they deem to pose a threat to community safety. The issue has been a prime one in political campaigns, with Republicans arguing bail changes have fueled an uptick in violent crime.

Assemblyman Chris Tague, R-Schoharie, said he is “deeply disappointed” that the Democratic majorities in Albany have been reluctant to accept what he called “common sense” amendments in the bail and discovery laws.

“The real problem is the left majority in both houses aren’t willing to move,” Tague said. “We’ve seen what has happened over the last three or four years but they’re unwilling to fix it. The Democrats control both houses of the Legislature and the Governor’s Mansion and yet here we are, 21 days without a state budget, and we’ve had since January to put this into place.”

Assemblyman Billy Jones, D-Plattsburgh, who supports the amendments favored by the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York, said the proposed revisions are reasonable and necessary.

“I, along with many of my colleagues, felt there should have been changes in bail and discovery, and it looks like we’re heading in that direction,” Jones said. “Hopefully, this will put a dent in the crime surge we’ve had for the past year or two.”

Jones said he believes rolling back some of the changes pushed through the statehouse by progressives is important to protect domestic violence victims and spare other innocent people from being endangered by individuals freed by the courts.

One of the most ardent supporters of maintaining the existing bail changes, Assemblywoman Latrice Walker, D-Brooklyn, announced this week she has launched a hunger strike in protest of efforts to roll back the amendments.

“My colleagues and I continue to reject efforts to hold the budget hostage in an attempt to jail more Black, brown and poor people pretrial,” Walker said. “We need real investments to create strong, safe and thriving communities, including protections against baseless evictions, access to employment opportunities and a true safety net.”