New York State's new laws when it comes to evidence being turned over to the defense were brought into focus during a court conference Monday for Joseph Grippo, the man accused of killing Robert Casado with a pickaxe in Montauk last June.
Dan Russo, Mr. Grippo's court-appointed attorney, told Judge Stephen L. Braslow in Suffolk County Criminal Court in Riverhead that the Suffolk County District Attorney's office has not yet handed over all of material it was required to by a Jan. 15 deadline. That material may include grand jury minutes, Suffolk Crime Lab reports, and witness names. While the prosecutor, Frank Schroeder, had notified the defense in writing before the deadline that he would not be able to comply in time because of how "voluminous" the material is, Mr. Russo said the D.A.'s office cannot simply grant itself an extension. He stipulated that Mr. Schroeder would need to notify the court and that only Judge Braslow would be able to give him more time.
Mr. Schroeder argued that the new statute does not specify that a judge grant the extension, only that the prosecution notify the defense.
The new rules pertaining to the process in which prosecutors must disclose evidence to the defense, known as discovery, earlier than ever in the case proceedings is part of the controversial criminal justice reform package that also changed bail laws. Prosecutors and police now have 15 days to turn over evidence to the defense. The idea behind the law is to make cases proceed more quickly and to shorten jail stays for defendants awaiting trial. Mr. Grippo has been in custody since June 20.
The new laws took effect on Jan. 1, but the 15-day deadline still applied to cases that began before 2020. Mr. Schroeder notified Mr. Russo of the delay two days before the Jan. 15 deadline in this case. His letter said that he expected to have all the information to Mr. Russo by Feb. 14.
Two days after the deadline, on Jan. 17, Mr. Schroeder did provide Mr. Russo with 723 pages, 24 CDs, Blu-rays, DVDs, and flash-drives pertaining to the case. Mr. Russo told the judge he had not been able to go through all of the records just yet, but was reading through more each day.
"It is voluminous," Judge Braslow agreed, adding he was inclined to give Mr. Schroeder an extra 30 days to comply. "That statute is not clear," he said of the specifics to how extensions are to be granted. The prosecutor said he was aware of no case law yet.
Mr. Russo agreed outside of court that this was unchartered territory. He did not have a problem with giving the assistant district attorney more time, but rather with how he had gone about getting it. His interpretation of the new law is that prosecutors cannot just grant themselves extensions.
He is anxious to start interviewing witnesses and those who submitted tips to Suffolk County Crime Stoppers between June 6, the morning Mr. Casado was found stabbed and beaten in Kirk Park, and Mr. Grippo's June 20 arrest on a second-degree murder charge.
A grand jury indicted him soon after. Grand jury testimony is sealed, but the defense is now entitled to all of the minutes from the proceedings under the new law. Prior to the changes, the defense had only been entitled to specific witness grand jury testimony at the time they took the stand at trial, Mr. Russo said. He questioned on the record whether he had been given all of the testimony, though Mr. Schroeder believes he has.
Mr. Russo is also awaiting results from potential biological material collected from Mr. Grippo's car during a search warrant. While Mr. Russo contends that his client is innocent and that there will be no blood found in the car. Had Mr. Grippo committed the murder and then gotten into his car, Mr. Russo said, he would have been covered with blood.
But Mr. Schroeder told the judge he too is still awaiting those results. The lab has also been "inundated," in light of the new laws, Mr. Schroeder said.
Mr. Russo is particularly eager to get the names of people — Montauk residents, he said later — who called CrimeStoppers with tips on Mr. Casado's murder. At least one person included a description that Mr. Russo believes points away from his client.
The prosecutor handling the case before Mr. Schroeder took it over in October had given Mr. Russo the CrimeStopper reports, but they were heavily redacted. Months ago, Mr. Russo asked the judge to order that the names be turned over.
"I can't further the investigation without that information," he said Monday.
Both sides agreed a protective order may be needed, which would mean that Mr. Russo will be given the tipsters' names, but Mr. Grippo will not be privy to them. Mr. Schroeder believes he will still be able to block out the cellphone and social security numbers belonging to those tipsters.
When the D.A.'s office has turned over all of the information to the defense, Mr. Schroeder will formally submit what is called discovery certification, which he said will be done by Feb. 14.
Mr. Schroeder, who works in the homicide bureau, told the judge he had "spent the better part of the month in front of a copier and burning discs" to hand over evidence in all of his homicide cases. The backlog is happening in many cases, not just that of Mr. Grippo and was not purposeful, Mr. Schroeder said.
In light of the new law, "I understand the pressures they are under," said Mr. Russo of the prosecutor's office, but his client, who appeared before the judge in a green prison uniform on Monday, is charged with second-degree murder. "He faces forever. This is serious," he told the judge. "The reality is, he's been sitting in jail for seven months, so to say he hasn't been prejudiced, I would disagree respectfully."
The case will be back before Judge Braslow on Feb. 26.
