In June 2020, amidst a backdrop of racial justice protests that brought renewed critical focus on the inner workings of the nation's legal institutions, New York State Chief Judge Janet DiFiore commissioned a report to review equal justice in the state's court system.

The resulting report found "a persistent lack of resources devoted to some of the busiest courts" — including New York City's Family Court — and concluded that "[the] sad picture that emerges is . . . a second-class system of justice for people of color in New York State."