BUFFALO, N.Y. — Discovery laws included in bail reform passed earlier this year presented the Erie County District Attorney's Office with a challenge.

The law dictates that both the prosecution and defense have to turn over all relevant case evidence within 15 days in order to declare they're ready for trial. Erie County District Attorney John Flynn says they can extend it to 90 days, but, "If we can't get it all turned over, we're not ready for trial and the case by operation of law can be dismissed," he added.

The DA's office would normally have about 25,000 misdemeanor cases and 7,000 felony cases a year before the pandemic. Flynn says some dismissals are normal: 1,500 misdemeanors have been dismissed so far this year. Flynn says they're not all dismissed due to the new discovery laws.

"We see more though where discovery is a factor,” Flynn said. “Probably about half of them.”

Flynn points to the time and effort to go through all the evidence in a case, and says the DA's office doesn't have enough manpower to do it within 15 days for both felony cases and misdemeanor cases.

It's already stretching his office's resources, even with a lighter case load, and Flynn worries that without the extra staff, the situation will only deepen as caseloads rise, leading to an even higher dismissal rate.

Flynn says he's willing to give people those who commit low level nonviolent misdemeanors a second chance, and doesn't mind dismissing cases if it makes a positive impact on the offenders' lives.

"What's happening now is that we're having to get rid of cases and move product without getting people the help,” he said. “And that is wrong with the services. At the end of the day, they’re getting the case dismissed, so the end result is still the same. What is happening, though, is the person may not be getting the services that they need in order to improve their lives. And that's what I’m sad about.”

The 10 openings include seven lawyers and three support staff. 

Flynn says he has enough staff handling misdemeanor cases to keep up with discovery for current and future cases.

He plans for most of the new attorneys to handle felony trials, and distribute the workload from the pandemic backlog.