Gov. Kathy Hochul says changes need to be made to New York state’s discovery laws to add protections for domestic violence victims, but some legal scholars argue those protections already exist.

During a press conference Monday, Gov. Hochul said loopholes in the state’s discovery laws allow for alleged domestic violence offenders to get their cases dismissed when prosecutors don’t present all case materials in a timely manner. 

Under the current statute, prosecutors are held to an expedited timeline to present all materials to the defense in a case, even if the materials aren’t considered evidence. 

She says if prosecutors fail to present even a small piece of evidence, it could cause harm to victims.

“If they miss some random detail that has no impact on the defense, or they submit it a day late, you know what happens? Another abuser walks out the door,” she said.

Hochul says her proposed changes to the law would allow for more deliberation before a case is thrown out.

"If a discovery error is not harmful to the defense, the court will have to look at whether the error will actually hurt the defense's case,” she said. 

Pronto of LI president & CEO Keith Scott says the changes would be a win for both victims and their alleged abusers.

"It really removes the loopholes and allows prosecutors to focus on the key evidence of the case and the evidence that will be held against the accused as well,” said Scott.

Sue Levine is a domestic violence survivor who now serves as the vice president of the ECLI-VIBES Survivor Advisory Board. She says it would be a win for survivors like her.

"If something gets slipped by and the person gets off and then they go out, and they can do it again, which I know happens,” she said.

More than 300 legal scholars sent a letter to Albany advocating against change to the discovery laws. 

Hofstra Law Defender Clinic Director Betsey Nevins is one of those legal scholars arguing against the change.

"If we want to protect victims, we should really put it in the hands of judges,” she said. "The prosecutors don't have to be perfect. They just have to act in due diligence and with good faith and judges are implementing that just fine across the state."

She says case law already exists in NYS that provides a safety net for victims.

"The proposals, if anything, they take that out of the hands of judges and the original statute had protections for victims,” she said.

In a statement to News 12, a spokesperson for Gov. Hochul said the following:

"Diligence is no match for flawed laws that are causing even the most careful prosecutors to have cases thrown out on minor technicalities. With about 94 percent of domestic violence cases dismissed in New York City in 2023, law enforcement, bipartisan elected officials, victims advocates, faith leaders and more have been vocal in their support for the Governor’s proposed changes to discovery because they know the current system is failing. Governor Hochul is committed to delivering a budget that enhances public safety and that starts by fixing our discovery laws.”