November 6, 2026

Bronx, NY– On Monday, New York City Family Court rolled out its revised courthouse drug testing program, which was significantly narrowed in response to a federal lawsuit by The Bronx Defenders arguing that the original program was unconstitutional. Facing that lawsuit, the court was forced to agree to significant reforms that protect parents from being coerced into invasive drug tests. The Bronx Defenders voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit after the family court committed to these reforms on the record in federal court. 

“For years, judges removed children from their homes if their parents would not agree to an arbitrary, demeaning drug test.  No test is ‘voluntary’ when illegal child removal hangs on the answer,” said Trisha Trigilio, Director of Impact Litigation at The Bronx Defenders. “Now, the court’s policy reflects what the Constitution has always required: no testing without probable cause and no punishment for saying no.” 

The Bronx Defenders filed the pre-enforcement action on June 9, 2026, to stop the court from reviving a pre-pandemic program that gave judges unchecked discretion to “ask” parents to undergo a drug test in front of court staff. In the past, judges routinely treated a parent’s refusal to test as evidence of a substance use disorder posing a risk to their children.  

But a drug test is not a parenting test. A positive test cannot show when or how much a drug was used, whether a parent was impaired or has substance use disorder, or if their use harmed their child. The lawsuit argued that reinstating the program would violate parents’ First Amendment right to court access and their Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches. 

Less than 24 hours after the lawsuit was filed, the Family Court agreed not to implement the program and to consider revising it. The court then committed to significant revisions on the record in federal court and has formally amended the program.  

Under the revised program:  

• Judges may not order testing without finding probable cause. 

• Judges may not (directly or indirectly) ask parents to “consent” to testing or hold a refusal against them.  

• Testing will be strictly limited to cases that involve allegations of substance use disorder. 

• When testing occurs, parents will no longer be guarded by officers while testing, and judges may not announce the test results in front of uninvolved observers. 

As the revised program takes effect today, The Bronx Defenders is closely monitoring how it is carried out. The new rules are a significant improvement over what the Family Court initially proposed, but written policy alone does not guarantee compliance. We have trained our attorneys, social workers, and parent advocates on the new policy and are ready to defend the people we represent if implemented wrongfully. The Bronx Defenders will continue to hold the Family Court system accountable for protecting the constitutional rights of the families it serves in The Bronx. 

Bronx Defenders Attorney Declaration  

Anonymous Client Declaration 

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