A 825: Requires police departments and agencies to provide district attorneys' offices access to such departments' and agencies' electronic record systems for discovery purposes.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 825 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. LASHER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to giving prose- cutors' offices access to law enforcement records for discovery purposes The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature enacted reforms of the 2 discovery process in two thousand twenty to enhance transparency and 3 fairness in criminal proceedings by ensuring that defendants have timely 4 access to the evidence against them. However, the implementation of 5 these reforms has placed significant burdens on both district attorneys' 6 offices and law enforcement agencies, which must meet tight deadlines 7 for the collection and disclosure of vast amounts of records. The 8 effects of this burden are exacerbated by the current lack of direct 9 access by district attorneys' offices to law enforcement evidence 10 systems, forcing prosecutors to rely on a manual and delayed process for 11 obtaining critical materials. 12 To address these challenges, this act seeks to improve the efficiency 13 of the discovery process by granting district attorneys' offices direct 14 access to law enforcement records and databases related to the subject 15 matter of criminal cases. This access will help alleviate delays, reduce 16 the administrative burden on both prosecutors and law enforcement, and 17 ensure that cases are resolved based on their merits rather than proce- 18 dural failures. By allowing staff in district attorneys' offices to 19 directly retrieve records, the act also aims to return police officers 20 to their core responsibilities of maintaining public safety. 21 The legislature finds that these reforms will promote the timely and 22 fair resolution of criminal cases, advancing the interests of justice 23 for both defendants and the public at large. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00487-02-5 
 A. 825 2 1 § 2. Section 245.20 of the criminal procedure law is amended by adding 2 a new subdivision 8 to read as follows: 3 8. Prosecutor access to law enforcement materials. (a) Each district 4 attorney's office shall have access to all electronic record systems 5 including but not limited to documents, audio files, and video files, 6 containing information related to the subject matter of a criminal case, 7 or information that a court has ordered the prosecutor to disclose to 8 the defense, of every police department or agency certified in accord- 9 ance with paragraph (d) of subdivision one of section eight hundred 10 forty-six-h of the executive law that operates within the county of such 11 district attorney. 12 (b) Every police department or agency shall issue no fewer than one 13 login credential to each district attorney's office with access to such 14 department's or agency's computer system pursuant to paragraph (a) of 15 this subdivision and shall issue no fewer than one additional login 16 credential for every twenty thousand residents of the county as deter- 17 mined by the most recent federal census. The credentials issued may 18 restrict the user to viewing, printing, downloading, or otherwise saving 19 the materials accessed with no ability to generate, edit, or delete any 20 documents, and may restrict a district attorney's office's access to 21 materials related to the subject matter of an actual case. 22 (c) The login credentials issued pursuant to paragraph (b) of this 23 subdivision shall grant access to all electronic files maintained in the 24 department's or agency's computer systems for every case brought to the 25 district attorney's office to include, but not be limited to, all docu- 26 ments required for full compliance with this article. 27 (d) All departments and agencies with one hundred thousand or more 28 individuals living in the area over which such department or agency has 29 jurisdiction shall provide the relevant district attorney's office or 30 offices with access to such computer systems within the physical 31 location of such district attorney's office or offices. All departments 32 and agencies with fewer than one hundred thousand individuals living in 33 the area over which such department or agency has jurisdiction shall 34 provide the relevant district attorney's office or offices with access 35 to such computer systems in an easily accessible police precinct. 36 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 37 have become a law.