Brooklyn Defenders

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Opinion | What You Need to Know About Police Surveillance New tools allow law enforcement agencies to track us at an unimaginable scale.

"Unlike previous surveillance methods, new digital tools allow law enforcement agencies to conduct surveillance persistently, universally, at an unimaginable scale. They can do so with no special permission, no oversight and no advance planning." www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Interviewed a man ICE was able to keep in jail--despite a judge's orders to release him--under a federal reg so dubious that in the last 6 weeks alone, federal district judges have ruled 11 times that ICE had violated the Constitution through it.

Detainee Accused of Tren de Aragua Affiliation Starts Hunger Strike Multiple judges have ruled that there’s little evidence that the Venezuelan man is a member of the notorious gang, but he remains in ICE custody nonetheless.

Multiple judges have ruled that there’s little evidence that the Venezuelan man is a member of the notorious gang, but he remains in ICE custody nonetheless.

www.thecity.nyc/2025/09/12/i...

Ex-judge on NYC jails board scolds Correction Department over Rikers lawyer-client visits Former Judge Barry Cozier, who served 20 years on the bench, called the right to counsel “the most fundamental right a defendant has,” but said the Department of Correction has been fal…

“The counsel visits processes create barriers, and what may seem like inconveniences effectively cut off their clients from their own defense," Jail Services Attorney Michael Klinger testified how DOC's failures deny people their legal right to their attorneys.

www.nydailynews.com/2025/09/10/e...

Rikers Jail Brass Block Lawyers from Clients, Public Defenders Warn Board Defense lawyers testified that systemic failures deny thousands of jailed New Yorkers their constitutional right to meet with attorneys as deaths in custody continue to climb.

“What may seem like inconveniences for us as visitors are, in fact, denials of a constitutional right.”

Public defenders testified yesterday about systemic failures that deny New Yorkers incarcerated at Rikers their right to meet with their attorneys.

www.thecity.nyc/2025/09/09/r...

Prisoners’ Phone Calls Will Soon Be Free in New York State The move will save the loved ones of the state’s more than 30,000 prisoners over $13 million a year, advocates say.

🎉 BIG NEWS: Prison phone calls in New York will be FREE as of August 1!

With this change, families with loved ones incarcerated in NY prisons can expect to save an $13 million annually — money that too often comes at the expense of groceries, rent, & family stability.

💡 tinyurl.com/mvc5w26v

This is a huge victory and a major step towards putting an end to the financial burdens on families impacted by the criminal legal system!

Next step: pass the End Predatory Court Fees Act to put an end to mandatory fines and fees and the criminalization of court debt.

New York City Public Defenders Applaud Court Decision Upholding the… The Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, and New York County Defender Services— represented by pro bono counsel Selendy Gay PLLC — commend Monday’s New...

Solitary confinement inflicts needless suffering, causes lasting trauma, and further destabilizes DOC’s already chaotic and violent jails.

The court's ruling to uphold the NYC Council's ban on solitary is a victory.

Joint statement: bds.org/latest/new-y...

Brooklyn Defender Services Announces Official Opening of Criminal… Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS) today announced that, as of July 1st, 2025, it has officially assumed the responsibilities of the criminal defense contract previously held by Queens Defenders with th...

Introducing Brooklyn Defenders’ Queens Office.

After 29 years of experience and expertise serving Brooklyn, we are proud to bring the same dedication and excellence to Queens.

Read our full statement here: bds.org/latest/brook...

New York Bans Anonymous Child Welfare Reports New legislation will require callers to the state child abuse hotline to identify themselves. ProPublica’s reporting in 2023 found that many anonymous callers made false allegations that led to intrus...

NEW: The New York State Legislature passed a bill banning anonymous complaints to the state child abuse hotline. The change comes in the wake of a 2023 ProPublica investigation that showed how the hotline had been weaponized by people endlessly calling in baseless allegations against exes or rivals.

New York Bans Anonymous Child Welfare Reports New legislation will require callers to the state child abuse hotline to identify themselves. ProPublica’s reporting in 2023 found that many anonymous callers made false allegations that led to intrus...

Thousands of families each year experience invasive investigations at the hands of family policing agents because an anonymous caller made a false allegation to the SCR hotline.

Last week, New York passed a bill to end these anonymous calls. www.propublica.org/article/new-...

We thank sponsors Senator @jabaribrisport.bsky.social and Assembly Member Andrew Hevesi for championing the rights of families and urge Governor Hochul to immediately sign this legislation into law!

The Anti-Harassment in Reporting Act is a simple and common-sense change to the law that provides needed transparency and accountability and protects families from unnecessary contact with the family policing system.

Thousands of New York families every year experience invasive and often traumatic investigations at the hands of family policing agents because an anonymous caller made a false allegation to the SCR hotline.

Parents, Public Defenders, and Advocates Hail Passage of the… Today, the New York State Assembly passed the Anti-Harassment in Reporting Act, which would reduce false and malicious reports of abuse and neglect made by anonymous callers to New York’s State Centra...

The NYS Assembly just passed the Anti-Harassment in Reporting Act!

This critical legislation will reduce false & malicious reports of abuse and neglect made by anonymous callers to New York’s State Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment. More: bds.org/latest/paren...

‘Big Money, Little Victims’ 50 years on The Daily News investigative series “Big Money, Little Victims,” published 50 years ago, set in motion a cascade of city actions, philanthropic investment and advocacy that changed the course of ch…

"New York City can reverse its over-spending on child welfare and under-investment in families."
FPP's director on critical legislation and investment to protect families 50 years after the @nydailynews.com groundbreaking expose of NYC child welfare.
www.nydailynews.com/2025/05/18/b...

Every New Yorker deserves to feel safe in their community and to live without the fear of separation from their family.

We say to our lawmakers: the time to act is NOW, we must pass #NY4All to protect our communities. nyic.me/NY4All

Youth justice can’t wait.  

Join BDS & the #YouthJusticeAndOpportunitiesAct Campaign for a press conference & teach-in led by youth, defenders, & community organizations to learn and take action together.

Sat. May 3, 12p -2p in Brentwood, NY.

Register: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

New York can begin to address some of the many harms the family policing system inflicts upon families, by empowering families with their rights in the face of invasive investigations and banning the practice of anonymous reports to the state hotline.

Lawyers find 'overpolicing' of Black, Hispanic parents in NYC child welfare investigations A new report finds that low-income Black and Hispanic New Yorkers are disproportionately targeted in child welfare investigations, with long-term financial implications for those under scrutiny.

A new report found that despite making up just 48% of NYC's population, Black and Latine New Yorkers accounted for 81% of ACS investigations.

Every day, families are targeted and torn apart by a system rife with racism that conflates poverty with neglect.
Read more: gothamist.com/news/lawyers...

By excluding the viewpoints of all impacted by these laws, Albany is at risk of crafting one-sided and unjust policy that sets our state back decades. With the due process rights of so many at risk, all stakeholders deserve a seat at the table. #ProtectKaliefsLaw

The 2019 laws were the result of years of debate and input from all stakeholders, including wrongfully convicted New Yorkers who were victims of the ‘Blindfold Law,’ the criminal defense bar, and other policy experts.

In negotiating her proposed change to the discovery laws, Governor Hochul has similarly kept impacted people and defense attorneys in the dark, allowing only prosecutors and law enforcement to provide input.

For decades, New York’s previous discovery statute was commonly known as the ‘Blindfold Law,’ as it allowed law enforcement to withhold evidence until the eve of trial, effectively "blindfolding" people accused of crimes and their attorneys.

URGENT: New York is on the brink of a major rollback that could lead to more wrongful convictions.
Discovery reform — which helps prevent innocent people from incarceration — is under attack. And the process is happening behind closed doors. #ProtectKaliefsLaw

JOIN US: We know families are safer together. Join parents, advocates, and attorneys in Albany on April 29th to call on the legislature to enact policies rooted in equity, support, & empowerment!
 
RSVP: bit.ly/familyadvoca...

Brooklyn Defenders Condemns Executive Order to Establish ICE Office… Yesterday, the Mayor’s Office signed an executive order that would authorize Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) and other federal law enforcement agencies to establish an office on Rikers Island. Brooklyn Defenders issued a statement in response.

***Press Release***

Brooklyn Defenders Condemns Executive Order to Establish ICE Office at Rikers Island

Full statement available here: bds.org/latest/brook...

Court Records Undercut Bronx DA’s Testimony on Discovery Rollbacks Hochul's proposed rollbacks are one of the last sticking points in this year’s budget negotiations. One prosecutor’s support rested on a faulty anecdote.

NEW: Bronx DA Darcel Clark gave faulty testimony to justify rolling back discovery laws, one of the last sticking points in state budget negotiations.

The mixup offers insight into a debate that has relied on prosecutors’ word against public defenders’.

"[Tisch] provided no evidence linking recidivism to discovery reform, nor any evidence to substantiate her claim that cases are being dismissed en masse based on technicalities."

#ProtectKaliefsLaw