Nassau County DA Anne Donnelly is kicking off her reelection bid Tuesday by heading to Albany to name for modifications to the state’s “pro-criminal” discovery regulation.
Donnelly, a Republican, advised The Submit she’s working on her document of placing violent criminals behind bars and standing up for law-abiding residents.
Democrat Nicole Aloise will look to unseat her in November, one other profession prosecutor who spent 16 years working in each the Queens and Nassau district attorneys’ places of work.
“As a prosecutor with over 32 years of expertise, and because the District Legal professional of one of many largest counties within the state, I’ve witnessed firsthand how Cashless Bail and Discovery Reform Legal guidelines have compromised public security,” Donnelly, 60, mentioned.
She is about to look at a press convention within the state Capitol alongside state Senate Minority Chief Robert Ortt and members of the Senate GOP convention to induce the Democratic-run Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul to revise or repeal the controversial bail reform and discovery legal guidelines.
“Because the implementation of those legal guidelines, we’ve seen a revolving door of justice, the place criminals stroll free on technicalities whereas victims proceed to undergo,” Donnelly mentioned.
The invention regulation — accepted in 2019 — moved up deadlines for prosecutors handy over proof and the names of witnesses to the defendants’ attorneys.
The deadlines are unrealistic for prosecutors with massive caseloads, Donnelly claims. And minor errors — usually unrelated to the crime itself — have led to the dismissal of significant circumstances, permitting criminals to stroll free, she mentioned.
She helps limiting the quantity of knowledge turned over to the protection and shortening the timeframe protection attorneys can problem a prosecutor’s discovery certification.
“In some circumstances, we’ve been compelled handy over victims’ delicate data—like a rape sufferer’s cellphone quantity—on to their attacker,” she added.
Hochul herself has referred to as for modifications to the invention regulation, coming on the urging of the state District Attorneys Affiliation.
Donnelly was first elected DA in 2021, in a purple wave upset over Democratic state Sen. Todd Kaminsky, who voted for the 2019 bail and discovery legal guidelines.
She has assisted within the infamous Gilgo Seaside serial killer case and secured convictions in high-profile circumstances, together with the tried homicide of Nassau County cops.
“After I ran for District Legal professional in 2021, I promised the folks of Nassau County that I might at all times put their security first—and I’ve delivered,” Donnelly mentioned.
However, she mentioned, “the struggle is way from over.”
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