It’s the Year of the Perp.
The start of the new decade couldn’t look better for New York’s criminal defendants, thanks to a slew of reforms and handouts that critics charge will return the city to the bad ol’ days.
Among the controversial changes is a new state law that requires prosecutors to turn over their evidence — potentially including witnesses’ names and contact info — to the defense within 15 days of arraignment.
Previously, there was no set time frame for prosecutors to comply, meaning defendants often didn’t get the information until just before trial.
“Our greatest concern with the early turnover of discovery is the potential for witness intimidation,’’ a city prosecutor told The Post on Tuesday. “When you have all this information turned over at such an early point in the prosecution — it may be even before a case is presented to the grand jury — there’s really great potential if a defendant is inclined to identify and intimidate a witness.’’
Staten Island DA Michael McMahon just started sending out letters to witnesses warning them that their names and either emails or phone numbers would be handed over to the defense.
“It is my duty to sound the alarm,” he told The Post.
He urged the public to protest the move to their local lawmakers.
“Anyone who agrees that this law will endanger public safety and the victims and witnesses of crime should let the governor and the leaders of the Senate and Assembly know before it’s too late and innocent people get hurt,” McMahon said.
The new law does contain provisions that allow judges to hold back information from the defense in sensitive cases, including when it comes to witnesses’ safety, but prosecutors say it doesn’t go far enough.
Defense lawyers and legal rights activists hailed the reform, claiming it would put New York on the same page as most other states in terms of when they can have access to the evidence against suspects. The issue is particularly important when it comes to plea deals, they said.
“Defense attorneys are going to have as much information as prosecutors have when advising their clients on how to proceed,’’ said longtime Manhattan prosecutor and now criminal lawyer Daniel Bibb.
“When a client [previously] asked what evidence [prosecutors] have, you’d tell the client, ‘I don’t know.’ But [prosecutors] want to know if you want to plead guilty,’” he said.
The city prosecutor said that the time frame for handing over such evidence is still dangerous.
“Even with a protective order, a defendant who knows what happened may be able to figure out from context who was willing to testify against him or made the observations that are described in the materials — and seek them out and threaten them and harm them in some way,” said the source.
“Many of the defendants whom we prosecute could care less whether they’re accurate. If they think that someone has ratted them out, many of our defendants will simply seek retribution,” the source added. “They don’t care if they’re just guessing.
“I’m very concerned people will refuse to cooperate at all.”
Then there are the state’s controversial bail reform law and the city’s kid-glove-handling of many criminal defendants. A new law allows suspects to be freed without bail when facing charges including criminally negligent homicide, aggravated assault on a child and peddling drugs near schools.
Even Bibb warned, “Many defendants will take advantage of the fact that they’re at liberty — and the NYPD Warrant Squad will be busier than ever.’’
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration came under fire for giving goodies to defendants who make court dates and attend therapy and rehab while awaiting trial — believing the rewards for good behavior will get them back to court.
And once criminals have been convicted and get out of prison, there’s a prize for that, too — including a MetroCard, flip phone and two $25 Visa debit cards.
Meanwhile, local DAs have stopped bringing cases for some quality-of-life crimes, such as fare-beating and pot-smoking.
Elected officials have “lost their minds and created a fragile situation where criminals feel comfortable, entitled and in control at the expense of innocent law-abiding New Yorkers,’’ said Michael Palladino, head of the NYPD detectives union.
Additional reporting by Kate Sheehy