We are joined by Conrad Blackburn, policy counsel and staff attorney in the Criminal Defense Practice of the Bronx Defenders. The Bronx Defenders is a public defender non-profit organization and a member of the Alliance to Protect Kalief’s Law, which seeks to protect defendants’ rights to discovery, the sharing of evidence between prosecutors and defense attorneys. The governor, District Attorneys, and some New York State legislators argue that 2019 legislation which modified the state’s discovery statutes is creating a rise in recidivism and in cases being dismissed. Bronx Defenders and other organizations argue that such claims are erroneous and that any so-called reform will tilt the scales in favor of prosecutors and against the rights of defendants to speedy trials and adequate defense of their cases. The New York state budget is late in part because this issue has not been resolved. Conrad Blackburn joins us from New York City and will provide analysis.