LDF Files Amicus Brief Challenging NYPD’s Practice of Secretly Taking DNA from New Yorkers

Today, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) filed an amicus brief in Leslie v. City of New York, a case in which the New York Police Department (NYPD) secretively took the DNA of Shakira Leslie, a Black woman, from a water cup she used while handcuffed without her consent or knowledge. Leslie's DNA was then unknowingly placed on the NYPD's Suspect Index to be held indefinitely and matched against other DNA found at crime scenes.

The brief argues the NYPD's practice of taking the DNA of individuals without their consent and in secret disproportionately impacts Black and Brown New Yorkers. It further urges the United States Court of Appeals forthe Second Circuit to reverse the District Court's judgement, which relied on Maryland v. King, without accounting for the differences between the two cases. Namely, that the NYPD's unfettered discretion and lack of procedural safeguards undergirded the targeting of Black people and other people of color who comprise the majority of those in the Suspect Index. The brief then examines the long history of Black people carrying the heaviest burdens of police surveillance, invasion of privacy, and breach of bodily autonomy.

"The NYPD secretively took Shakira Leslie's DNA and placed her on a list she could not know of and had no means to contest. The NYPD's practice of placing Black people in a surveillance dragnet that risks their lives is not a new one, but it remains unconscionable and incredibly dangerous for victims, " said Emahunn Campbell, Assistant Counsel at LDF. "We are hopeful that the court addresses the NYPD's racial targeting of Black people and makes clear that it is unlawful."

"The NYPD has a disturbing degree of discretion on who to target for DNA collection and surveillance. With the NYPD's long history of discriminatory policing and the rampant targeting of Black people in DNA collection, it's clear that the NYPD is doubling down on practices that harm Black communities," said Mide Odunsi, Equal Justice Works Fellow at LDF. "We urge the court to protect the rights and bodily autonomy of Black people who continue to be subject to hyper-surveillance."

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Founded in 1940, theLegal Defense Fund (LDF)is the nation's first civil rights legalorganization. LDF has beencompletely separatefrom the National Association for theAdvancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957, though it was founded under theleadership of Thurgood Marshall while he was at the NAACP. LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute (TMI) is a division of LDF that undertakes innovative research and houses LDF'sarchive. In all media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF (do not include NAACP) and refer to the Institute as LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute or TMI.