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Talia Kamran, Staff Attorney in the Seizure and Surveillance Defense Project, testified before the New York City Council Committees on Public Safety, Technology, Oversight & Investigations, and Public Housing regarding the NYPD’s access to surveillance cameras in NYCHA developments. Kamran warned that the program “violates the civil rights of NYCHA residents and unjustly places low-income New Yorkers under a microscope of government surveillance.” She called on the Council to halt the covert expansion, which threatens Fourth Amendment protections and disproportionately targets Black and Latinx communities.

Governor Hochul has until December to decide on the Anti-Harassment in Reporting bill, which would require reporters of suspected child abuse to provide their names and contact information. Nila Natarajan, Associate Director of Policy and Family Defense, is leading efforts to get the bill signed into law. She explains that fears the bill will discourage reports are unfounded, with over 90% of anonymous reports found to be unsubstantiated. Natarajan told WJFF, “It becomes apparent when a family is experiencing... dozens of reports with similar allegations... that it’s really hard to conclude anything other than it’s a harassing call.”

At a City Council oversight hearing on NYPD discipline and the Civilian Complaint Review Board, Senior Policy Counsel Jacqueline Gosdigian urged Council Members to confront the crisis of rising deaths in NYPD custody and take immediate action to curb illegal in-custody arrests. “Custodial arrests for low-level charges are on the rise, are illegal and unwarranted, and contribute to people with medical conditions and mental health issues entering precincts and jails in which NYPD is not equipped to provide needed medical attention.”

The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, New York County Defender Services, the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, elected officials, local community groups, and impacted New Yorkers rallied today on the steps of City Hall to announce a ten-point plan to address the recent deaths in New York City Police Department (NYPD) custody.

A Venezuelan man represented by BDS has been held in ICE detention for more than seven months despite multiple court orders for his release. Federal authorities continue to use the “automatic stay” regulation to block his release, highlighting ongoing violations of due process for immigrants in federal custody.

Senior Jail Services Attorney Michael Klinger testified this week that systemic delays and obstructions at Rikers Island are violating the constitutional right to counsel. As reported in The City, during a Board of Correction hearing, Klinger described how staff routinely claim clients have “refused” visits that were never offered, adding: “Clients later tell us they never refused, were never informed, or were misled into thinking they were being taken to court.”

A coalition of New York City public defender offices, immigrant and civil rights organizations, advocacy groups, and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams hailed a court ruling that found the Adams Administration’s Executive Order 50 — which sought to reopen the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office at Rikers Island — illegal.

The Legal Aid Society and Brooklyn Defender Services issued a joint statement on the death of a 46-year-old man in New York City Police Department (NYPD) custody at Kings County Criminal Court.

Attorney-in-Charge of the Adolescent Representation Team, Lisa Salvatore, testified before the New York City Council Committees on Criminal Justice Oversight regarding the The Department of Probation's Organizational Strategy.