Law360 (May 29, 2026, 5:03 PM EDT) -- A Brooklyn driver who pled guilty to failing to yield to a pedestrian, causing her death, has had the judgment against him reversed by a New York state appeals court, which found that he wasn't provided all discovery material by prosecutors in a timely fashion.

In a unanimous published opinion issued Thursday, a three-judge panel found that Bruce Zurrow should have been given all discovery items within 60 days of the date a criminal action began against him. He was arraigned in February 2024 and the appeals court said April 18 was the 60th day of the speedy trial clock, but some material was missing at that point.

"On June 3, 2024, defense counsel emailed the People requesting multiple items that had not been part of the initial discovery packet served by the People with the [certificate of compliance], including, among other things, any body-worn camera (BWC) footage from the first two officers on the scene," the panel said.

After Zurrow got footage from 10 body cameras worn by officers at the scene, he sought to dismiss the case on statutory speedy trial grounds, but was denied by a judge who found the state had made reasonable efforts to locate material.

When his dismissal request was denied, he pled guilty to one of the charges against him and was sentenced, according to the opinion.

However, while the state provided Zurrow with materials he requested on the day he requested them, the panel said the state failed to show it had exercised "due diligence" in locating all materials related to the case.

There was no proof the state looked for body camera footage, the panel said, "Rather, the People's submissions established that they did not make any such inquiries until after being notified by defense counsel as to the absence of any BWC footage in the discovery packet."

The court added that the material was clearly not hard to find, as the state was able to immediately locate it upon request.

Since this was not done initially, the appeals panel said the certificate of compliance "was invalid, the attendant [statement of readiness] was illusory, and defendant's motion to dismiss on statutory speedy trial grounds should have been granted, as more than 60 days were chargeable to the People."

As a result, the panel reversed the judgment against Zurrow and dismissed the charges against him.

Zurrow's attorney declined to comment on the case, and a spokesperson for the Kings County District Attorney's Office said Friday that it is reviewing the decision.

Judges Wavny Toussaint, Marina Cora Mundy and Joanne D. Quiñones sat on the panel.

The state is represented by Leonard Joblove, Michael Birece and Melissa Owen of the Kings County District Attorney's Office.

Zurrow is represented by Heather J. Stepanek.

The case is People of the State of New York v. Bruce Zurrow, case number 2024-1239 K CR, in the Supreme Court, Appellate Term, Second Department, 2d, 11th and 13th Judicial Districts.

--Editing by Linda Voorhis.

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