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Read the latest on our policy campaigns, victories, and more. Please direct all media inquiries to mediarequests@bds.org.

Testimony: The New York State Senate Standing Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Use Disorders Public Hearing on the Treatment Court Expansion Act (S.4547)

Yung-Mi Lee, Director of Law and Appeals at Brooklyn Defender Services, testified before the New York State Senate Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Use Disorders in support of the Treatment Court Expansion Act (TCEA). She highlighted Brooklyn’s success with problem-solving courts that provide alternatives to incarceration for people with substance use disorders and serious mental illness. Lee emphasized that passage of the TCEA is crucial to expanding access to treatment courts for those living with mental health challenges, developmental disabilities, and traumatic brain injury, ensuring more people can find support outside the criminal legal system.
Letters & Testimonies
Sentencing and Mandatory Minimums

Testimony: New York City Council Committees on Public Safety, Technology, Oversight & Investigations, and Public Housing on The Use of Surveillance in NYCHA Developments

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.
Letters & Testimonies
Surveillance and Civil Rights

WJFF - Radio Catskill: Bill to Forbid Anonymous Child Abuse Reports Up to Governor

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.”
In The News
Early Defense for Parents Facing ACS Investigations

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Brooklyn Defender Services
177 Livingston St., 7th Fl.
Brooklyn, NY 11201

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