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OVER A TWO-JUSTICE DISSENT, THE MATTER WAS SENT BACK FOR A RULING ON WHETHER THE PEOPLE COMPLIED WITH THEIR DISCOVERY OBLIGATIONS RE: LAW ENFORCEMENT DISCIPLINARY RECORDS (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, sending the matter back for a ruling on whether the People complied with their discovery obligations, over a two-justice dissent, noted that the People cannot use a “screening panel” to review law enforcement disciplinary records:

Defendant … contends that the court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the indictment on statutory speedy trial grounds (see CPL 30.30). In particular, he contends that the People’s failure to disclose existing disciplinary records of potential law enforcement witnesses for use as impeachment materials … rendered any certificate of compliance (COC) filed pursuant to CPL 245.50 improper and thereby rendered any declaration of trial readiness made pursuant to CPL 30.30 illusory and insufficient to stop the running of the speedy trial clock. As the Court of Appeals recently stated in People v Bay, “the key question in determining if a proper COC has been filed is whether the prosecution has ‘exercis[ed] due diligence and ma[de] reasonable inquiries to ascertain the existence of material and information subject to discovery’ ” … . Due diligence “is a familiar and flexible standard that requires the People to make reasonable efforts to comply with statutory directives” (id. [internal quotation marks omitted]). “[W]hether the People made reasonable efforts sufficient to satisfy CPL article 245 is fundamentally case-specific, as with any question of reasonableness, and will turn on the circumstances presented” … . “[C]ourts should generally consider, among other things, the efforts made by the prosecution and the prosecutor’s office to comply with the statutory requirements, the volume of discovery provided and outstanding, the complexity of the case, how obvious any missing material would likely have been to a prosecutor exercising due diligence, the explanation for any discovery lapse, and the People’s response when apprised of any missing discovery” … . Although the statute does not require a ” ‘perfect prosecutor,’ ” the Court emphasized that the prosecutor’s good faith, while required, “is not sufficient standing alone and cannot cure a lack of diligence” … . People v Sumler, 2024 NY Slip Op 03307, Fourth Dept 6-14-24

Practice Point: A “screening panel” cannot be used to determined what law enforcement disciplinary records must be supplied to the defense in discovery.

Practice Point: The People’s failure to comply with discovery obligations may render the certificate of compliance improper and the ready-for-trial announcement illusory, warranting dismissal on speedy trial grounds.

 

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