IN DETERMINING WHETHER THE PEOPLE’S CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH THEIR DISCOVERY OBLIGATIONS WAS VALID THE MOTION COURT RULED THE PEOPLE HAD ACTED IN GOOD FAITH; THE MATTER WAS REMITTED FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE CORRECT STANDARD: WHETHER THE PEOPLE ACTED WITH DUE DILIGENCE AND MADE REASONABLE EFFORTS TO SATISFIY THEIR OBLIGATIONS (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department remitted the matter for a new determination whether the People’s certificate of compliance (COC) with their discovery obligations was valid. The motion judge held the People “acted in good faith.” The appropriate inquiry is whether the People exercised due diligence and made reasonable efforts to satisfy their obligations:

… [T]he court erred in concluding that the People’s initial COC was proper solely on the basis that the People acted in good faith with respect to their discovery obligations. The court was required to determine whether the People satisfied their burden of establishing that they exercised due diligence and made reasonable efforts to satisfy their obligations under CPL article 245 at the time they filed their initial COC … . In light of the court’s failure to consider whether the People met that burden, we hold the case, reserve decision and remit the matter to Supreme Court to make that determination and, if appropriate, to determine whether the statement of readiness was valid and whether the People were ready within the requisite time period (see CPL 30.30 [1] [a]). People v Mosley, 2025 NY Slip Op 06484, Fourth Dept 11-21-25

Practice Point: The standard for determining whether the People’s certificate of compliance with their discovery obligations is valid is “due diligence,” not “good faith.”