The Legal Aid Society is sounding the alarm over the revelation that the NYPD is utilizing “administrative subpoenas” – a type of subpoena that has typically been used for the department’s internal investigations and does not require a judge’s approval to be served – in criminal cases. In a review of cases dating back to 2017, The Appeal has identified at least four instances in which administrative subpoenas were used by NYPD detectives in criminal cases to request information, short-circuiting judicial review and impairing accountability in the process.

Legal Aid and partner organizations across the city have slammed the practice – especially considering the low bar already in place for obtaining proper warrants – and warned that tolerance of such a practice will make it harder for defense attorneys to confidently defend the rights of their clients.

“If you receive a normal one of these subpoenas, you know where to go to quash it,” said Jerome Greco, an attorney with The Legal Aid Society’s Digital Forensics Unit. “With the administrative ones [from] NYPD, they’re returnable to One Police Plaza. So if you wanna move to quash, where do you go? Who gets to make that decision? Where do you seek redress?”