Brooklyn Defender Services outlines goals for 2024 legislative session
Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Defender Services
Brooklyn Defender Services, alongside several New York City public defender offices, is actively pushing for a series of legislative reforms in the 2024 session. These reforms target the deeply ingrained injustices within the criminal legal, family regulation, and immigration systems, which disproportionately impact Black, Brown, immigrant and low-income communities in New York.
A focal point of their advocacy is the Youth Justice and Opportunities Act, legislation that aims to lessen the lifelong consequences of harsh sentences and criminal convictions on young people. By recognizing the continuous brain development and specific vulnerabilities of individuals under 26, the act proposes to broaden access to education, employment, and housing opportunities for this demographic.
In conjunction with this, the Family Miranda Rights Act is another critical piece of proposed legislation backed by BDS. It seeks to empower parents from the outset of a Child Protective Services (CPS) investigation. By informing them of their rights, the act aims to avert unnecessary family separations and mitigate the trauma commonly associated with CPS investigations.
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.