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-...

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...

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...

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...

***Press Release*** Brooklyn Defenders Condemns Executive Order to Establish ICE Office at Rikers Island Full statement available here: bds.org/latest/brook...

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

"When one side of a case has all the information, they have all the power—and powerless people are harmed." NEW in @cityandstateny.bsky.social: The Public Advocate calls on the legislature to dismiss the governor's proposed discovery changes, with ways to move forward.

We thank the @council.nyc.gov and @nycspeakeradams.bsky.social for recognizing the urgent need for investment in public defense and immigration legal services in their response to the Mayor’s preliminary budget. Full statement: bds.org/latest/brook...

Soso Ramishvili died in Brooklyn Criminal Court after languishing in pain for three days in NYPD custody after being accused of shoplifting. He should have been given a ticket and released. His tragic death is part of a troubling and dangerous trend. gothamist.com/news/man-who...

Soso Ramishvili languished in pain in NYPD custody for three days until his death, despite his repeated pleas and calls from defense lawyers and other personnel to secure him needed care. This level of indifference is unconscionable. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/n...

We are devastated by the death of our client Sonia Reyes, who died at Rikers Island earlier today. We offer our sincere condolences to her loved ones and all who are affected by her passing. Full statement:

Happy National Public Defender Day to all of our public defenders! The Gideon V. Wainwright decision is foundational to our mission of providing representation and advocacy to people facing loss of freedom, family separation and other serious legal harms.

We applaud the legislature for rejecting the Governor's proposal to repeal New York's discovery laws in their one-house budgets. This proposal threatens to send us back to the days of the ‘Blindfold Law’ that left people in the dark and contributed to wrongful convictions.

Governor Kathy Hochul and prosecutors say they want to "streamline" reforms passed five years ago to ensure fair and speedy criminal court proceedings. A close reading of their proposals reveals their effort to gut the legislation known as "Kalief's Law." hellgatenyc.com/discovery-re...

“These bills ensure that parents are informed of their rights, that families are protected from harassment, & that children can maintain the relationships that shape their lives.” This week, we went to Albany to tell lawmakers: families are safer together. imprintnews.org/child-welfar...

HAPPENING NOW: While Mayor Adams is in DC giving testimony at a Congressional hearing on sanctuary cities, we're rallying at City Hall to uplift NYC's immigrant community + demand Mayor Adams stand up to Trump’s destructive mass deportation agenda. Watch live: www.youtube.com/live/W33F8HH...

Open, early, & complete evidence sharing is foundational to fairness in the criminal legal system. The governor's proposal would set us back decades. We can't go back to the "Blindfold Era" of coerced pleas, prolonged pretrial incarceration & wrongful convictions. www.nydailynews.com/2025/03/03/p...

We’re in Albany today to urge lawmakers to #ProtectKaliefsLaw. Governor Hochul's dangerous proposal will return New York to the era of wrongful convictions, prolonged pretrial incarceration, and coerced pleas. Join the fight at protectkaliefslaw.com

As public defenders working with parents in family court, we write during Black History Month to urge state legislators to pass legislation that informs, supports, and empowers families and communities rather than subjecting them to cycles of harm and separation. citylimits.org/2025/02/27/o...

More than 80 law professors urged legislators to reject Governor Hochul's proposal to overhaul New York's discovery laws that would send the state back to the era of the "Blindfold Law" when guilty pleas were “secured by coercion, not evidence.” www.nydailynews.com/2025/02/25/r...

The NYPD’s Gang Database is a racially biased surveillance tool that unjustly targets Black and Latinx youth without due process. #erasethedatabase politicsny.com/2025/02/24/a...

"Limiting discovery won’t curb recidivism. It will only increase wrongful convictions." Must read op-ed from Derrick Hamilton about proposed rollbacks to New York's evidence-sharing laws that would erode due process and drive wrongful convictions. www.timesunion.com/opinion/arti...

JOIN US: New York families deserve policies rooted in equity, support, & empowerment! Join parents, advocates, & attorneys in Albany on March 4th to call on the legislature to stand in defense of families. RSVP: bit.ly/march4family...

📣In 2025, we're calling on @GovKathyHochul & state legislators to protect immigrant communities by passing the New York for All Act! #NY4All Take action to demand real protections from federal policies targeting immigrants. 🤳It only takes a few mins to make a difference: win.newmode.net/ny4all

Ahead of today's joint legislative budget hearing, we joined the Alliance to Protect Kalief's Law to urge the Legislature to uphold the constitutional promise of fairness & transparency by rejecting the Governor's proposal to roll back New York's common-sense & successful discovery laws. Statement:

NEW: Prosecutors have urged the governor to roll back some of New York’s discovery reforms. Public defenders worry about reverting to a time when they had to fight their cases “blindfolded.”

Discovery is foundational to fairness. Today, the Alliance to Protect Kalief's Law launched a new website to defend New York's open, early, and complete discovery laws. www.cityandstateny.com/politics/202...

Public defenders have a powerful tool to hold police accountable for illegal stops and searches, but a common prosecution practice often stands in the way. Read more in a new op-ed from Yung-Mi Lee, Director of Law and Appeals, for @citylimitsnews.bsky.social: citylimits.org/2025/02/05/o...

"Hochul’s proposal is a full repeal of discovery reform." Kevin Stadelmeier, with the Erie County Assigned Counsel Program, busts the myths the Governor and prosecutors are using in their proposal to gut New York's discovery laws: buffalonews.com/opinion/new-...

The NYC Council Progressive Caucus's Crisis to Care campaign recognizes that to address NYC’s mental health crisis we need to prioritize compassionate, health-focused solutions, not legal system involvement. This plan will make great strides to ensure people get the treatment & housing they need.

We've launched five new French-language videos as part of the “We Have Rights” series, a national immigrant empowerment campaign providing resources to navigate ICE encounters safely. Videos are available in 8 languages at WeHaveRights.us. We invite you to explore & help spread the word.