The New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) is authorized to receive, investigate, hear, make findings and recommend action on civilian complaints against NYPD officers that allege misconduct involving excessive use of force, abuse of authority, discourtesy, or use of offensive language. In February 2018, the CCRB adopted a resolution to begin investigating complaints of sexual misconduct against NYPD officers (the “Sexual Misconduct Resolution”), instead of automatically referring them to the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB), as was its practice. The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association of New York (PBA), a union representing NYPD officers, brought a lawsuit challenging the Sexual Misconduct Resolution, as well as other CCRB rules, in New York Supreme Court.

Whether the Defense of Marriage Act violates equal protection by denying married gay couples recognition under federal law.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union have filed a lawsuit challenging the village of Kiryas Joel’s refusal to disclose public records about a sex-segregated park.

In 1998, the City of New York transferred the authority to oversee public school safety from the Board of Education to the New York City Police Department (NYPD).