Robert Gavin reports in the Times Union that there is a rise in court cases being dismissed for failing to meet “speedy trial” deadlines. Across the state there is a 161 percent increase in such dismissals recently, with a 63 percent increase in Albany County, a 262 percent rise in Rensselaer County and 450 percent increase in Schenectady County. Currently New York's rules mandate that prosecutors be ready for trial within six months from the initiation of felony charges; 90 days for serious misdemeanors, 60 days for lesser misdemeanors, and 30 days for lesser violation offenses. Richard C. Lewis, president of the New York State Bar Association, called the data “clearly disturbing,” saying, “When I see the statistics, they certainly are scary.” The changes came from legislation in 2018, and the most recent state budget included an extra $90 million to help prosecutors implement discovery changes. Erie County District Attorney John Flynn, president of the District Attorneys Association for the state of New York, said the worst part for him is telling crime victims that someone got off on a technicality. He said, “You don’t want to shift the blame onto Albany, onto the discovery law, because then it looks like you’re trying to weasel out of it.... But there’s some truth obviously to trying to shift it. ... It’s not a complete weaseling out of it because of the sheer number of files that you have, the sheer number of paperwork that’s out there, and the onerous rules that are hanging above your head.” But Susan Bryant, executive director of the New York Defenders Association, said, “Prosecutors have never provided data to demonstrate that an increase in dismissals, to the extent it is happening, is actually directly tied to discovery reform.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.