BREAKING: We’re suing New York over unlawful delays adjudicating SCR appeals that leave parents unable to work or care for family. Nearly 70% ultimately prevail—but many wait over a year. The SCR is a shadow criminal record. Not child safety. bds.org/assets/files...
TAKE ACTION: Families are safer together. Join us in Albany on March 11th alongside families, advocates, and attorneys to call for legislative change rooted in equity, support, & empowerment.
RSVP: bit.ly/familyadvoca...
We congratulate Stanley Richards on his appointment as Commissioner of the NYC Department of Correction. He comes to this role at a critical moment to end the culture of violence & neglect, close Rikers, and build a system rooted in dignity and humanity. bds.org/assets/files...
The Coalition to Protect Raise the Age rallied at City Hall urging state lawmakers to preserve the law & streamline funding. AM Latrice Walker warned rolling back Raise the Age would undo progress & instead called for investing in opportunities for youth. bds.org/assets/files...
BDS congratulates Ali Najmi on his appointment as Chair of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary. We applaud Mayor Mamdani for engaging the broader legal community, including defense counsel in criminal and family courts, in the judicial selection process.
NY’s 2017 Raise the Age law stopped the practice of charging all 16- and 17-year-olds in adult criminal court. The data shows that treating children as adults does not make communities safer. We must protect Raise the Age and fight for full implementation: raisetheageny.org
We’re proud to announce that BDS’ Senior Jail Services Attorney Michael Klinger has been appointed to Mayor-elect Mamdani’s Transition Committee on the Criminal Legal System. Michael brings extensive experience supporting people in NYC jails and advancing reforms.
This holiday season, we invite you to support BDS’ Holiday Toy Drive for families in Brooklyn and Queens. Donate through our wish list or make a cash contribution. Find both links in our bio. Thank you for your generosity!
"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.
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...
“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...
“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...
🎉 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.
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...
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: 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.
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.
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...
"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.
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.
