This thesis explores Handschu v. Special Services Division, an ongoing federal class-action suit brought by New York activists in 1971 to challenge the NYPD's right to use covert tactics to monitor them and undermine their political projects. The Handschu plaintiffs originally hoped that the court would find the NYPD's covert activities unconstitutional and would intervene on behalf of all New Yorkers thus targeted. After the conservative Burger Court challenged the pro-activist decisions of the previous Warren Court, the plaintiffs abandoned their ambitious goals and settled with the defendants. The Handschu defendants easily sidelined this settlement in the wake of the 9/11 attacks by convincing presiding Judge Charles Haight to reduce its scope and protections, a change which allowed them to revive and deploy previously banned covert tactics against New York's Muslim population and its activist community. The Handschu settlement has been eclipsed by recent police reform efforts achieved through electoral tactics supported by local mobilization.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis explores <em>Handschu v. Special Services Division, </em>an ongoing federal class-action suit brought by New York activists in 1971 to challenge the NYPD's right to use covert tactics to monitor them and undermine their political projects. The <em>Handschu </em>plaintiffs originally hoped that the court would find the NYPD's covert activities unconstitutional and would intervene on behalf of all New Yorkers thus targeted. After the conservative Burger Court challenged the pro-activist decisions of the previous Warren Court, the plaintiffs abandoned their ambitious goals and settled with the defendants. The <em>Handschu </em>defendants easily sidelined this settlement in the wake of the 9/11 attacks by convincing presiding Judge Charles Haight to reduce its scope and protections, a change which allowed them to revive and deploy previously banned covert tactics against New York's Muslim population and its activist community. The <em>Handschu </em>settlement has been eclipsed by recent police reform efforts achieved through electoral tactics supported by local mobilization.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Burby, Henry A"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (M.A.)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Anne Kornhauser","Matthew Vas"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:57:53Z","subjects":["NYPD","Demographics Unit","Police Surveillance","Handschu","New York","Counterterrorism.","Legal"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/999","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Anne Kornhauser","Matthew Vas"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Burby, Henry A"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-05-11T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["NYPD","Demographics Unit","Police Surveillance","Handschu","New York","Counterterrorism.","Legal"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/999"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis explores Handschu v. Special Services Division, an ongoing federal class-action suit brought by New York activists in 1971 to challenge the NYPD's right to use covert tactics to monitor them and undermine their political projects. The Handschu plaintiffs originally hoped that the court would find the NYPD's covert activities unconstitutional and would intervene on behalf of all New Yorkers thus targeted. After the conservative Burger Court challenged the pro-activist decisions of the previous Warren Court, the plaintiffs abandoned their ambitious goals and settled with the defendants. The Handschu defendants easily sidelined this settlement in the wake of the 9/11 attacks by convincing presiding Judge Charles Haight to reduce its scope and protections, a change which allowed them to revive and deploy previously banned covert tactics against New York's Muslim population and its activist community. The Handschu settlement has been eclipsed by recent police reform efforts achieved through electoral tactics supported by local mobilization.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Flawed Judgment: The Prolonged Failure of Handschu v. Special Services Division, 1971-2022"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Anne Kornhauser","Matthew Vas"],"dc:creator":["Burby, Henry A"],"dc:date.available":["2022-05-11T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis explores Handschu v. Special Services Division, an ongoing federal class-action suit brought by New York activists in 1971 to challenge the NYPD's right to use covert tactics to monitor them and undermine their political projects. The Handschu plaintiffs originally hoped that the court would find the NYPD's covert activities unconstitutional and would intervene on behalf of all New Yorkers thus targeted. After the conservative Burger Court challenged the pro-activist decisions of the previous Warren Court, the plaintiffs abandoned their ambitious goals and settled with the defendants. The Handschu defendants easily sidelined this settlement in the wake of the 9/11 attacks by convincing presiding Judge Charles Haight to reduce its scope and protections, a change which allowed them to revive and deploy previously banned covert tactics against New York's Muslim population and its activist community. The Handschu settlement has been eclipsed by recent police reform efforts achieved through electoral tactics supported by local mobilization.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/999"],"dc:subject":["NYPD","Demographics Unit","Police Surveillance","Handschu","New York","Counterterrorism.","Legal"],"dc:title":["Flawed Judgment: The Prolonged Failure of Handschu v. Special Services Division, 1971-2022"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["History"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:57:53Z"}