The Legislature revamped a law that kept evidence from defendants. Prosecutors now must show their hands earlier.

For decades, the rules governing criminal trials in New York have been tougher on defendants and more favorable to prosecutors than those in most other states.

The state was one of only 10 that let prosecutors wait until the eve of trial to hand over witness names and statements and other crucial evidence to the defense, a practice that forced many defendants to decide whether to plead guilty without knowing the strength of the case against them.

But now the Democrats who seized control of the Legislature last fall have pushed through a bill that spins New York in the opposite direction.

The overhauled law, written largely by public defenders, will fundamentally transform how trials are conducted in New York, moving the state from having one of the most restrictive rules in the country regarding turning over the government’s evidence — a process known as discovery — to having one of the most open.

“Almost all states have done this decades ago,” said John Schoeffel, a public defender with the Legal Aid Society, who helped draft the statute.

Before the bill passed last month, New York was behind conservative states like North Carolina and Texas in overhauling its discovery law, and its rules were only slightly less restrictive than those in red states like Wyoming, South Carolina and Louisiana.

The new law requires district attorneys to turn over most of their evidence to the defense within 15 days of a defendant’s first court appearance.

Prosecutors and law enforcement organizations fought against the changes, arguing they will make it easier for defendants to intimidate witnesses, especially in sexual assault and gang cases.