NYPD Agrees to Pay $125,000 to Bronx Woman Who Sued to Stop Police Violence and Retaliation Against Black and Brown New Yorkers
Media Contacts: Michael Paul Jackson, mjackson@bronxdefenders.org The Bronx, NY – Today, The Bronx Defenders and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, LLP announced that the City of New York has agreed to pay Cheyenne Lee $125,000 after nine NYPD officers barged into her home without a warrant, arrested her teenage nephew, and then arrested her without…
IMPACTED PEOPLE, LABOR UNIONS, BUSINESSES, AND CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS CELEBRATE THE GOVERNOR’S SIGNING OF THE CLEAN SLATE ACT
Katie Schaffer, kschaffer@communityalternatives.org, 646-265-2044 Tanya Frable, tfrable@communityalternatives.org, 347-677-2463 NEW YORK – Today, Governor Hochul signed the Clean Slate Act, legislation that will help millions of people support their families, boost New York’s economy and help create safer and stronger communities. Her signature on this historic legislation was lauded by hundreds of labor unions, businesses, and…
BXD In Conversation: Four Talks this Fall
Despite representing 20,000 clients every year in criminal, civil, family, and immigration courts, we still find time to participate in discussions to educate the public about the issues most impacting the people we serve. This month, Wesley Caines (Chief of Staff), Aimee Carlisle (Senior Attorney), Sophia Gurulé (Immigration Policy Counsel), and Julia Solomons (Senior…
Defenders, Advocates and Impacted Parents Urge Passage of Legislation Requiring ACS and Other Family Regulation Agencies to Inform Parents of Their Miranda Rights
October 22, 2021 Press Contacts: Chi Nguyen, The Bronx Defenders, cnguyen@bronxdefenders.org Dan Ball, Brooklyn Defenders Services, dball@bds.org Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, smccan@ndsny.org Joyce McMillan, JMacForFamilies, advocateandorganize@gmail.com Defenders, Advocates and Impacted Parents Urge Passage of Legislation Requiring ACS and Other Family Regulation Agencies to Inform Parents of Their Miranda Rights Black and Brown…
NYC Defenders Decry Commencement of Transfers of Women and Transgender People on Rikers Island to Upstate Prisons
October 21, 2021 Contact: Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society (rhaskins@legal-aid.org) Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) Daniel Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services (DBall@bds.org) Emily Whitfield, The Bronx Defenders (Ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org) Hettie Powell, Queens Defenders (hpowell@queensdefenders.org) ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYC Defenders Decry Commencement of Transfers of Women and Transgender People on Rikers Island to…
NYC TGNCNBI Task Force Demands Governor Hochul & Mayor de Blasio Stop Transfers of Women, TGNCNBI New Yorkers to Upstate Prisons
October 20, 2021 Emily Whitfield The Bronx Defenders ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYC TGNCNBI Task Force Demands Governor Hochul & Mayor de Blasio Stop Transfers of Women, TGNCNBI New Yorkers to Upstate Prisons (NEW YORK, NY) – The New York City Task Force on Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, Non-Binary, and Intersex (TGNCNBI) individuals, in a…
More than 70 Incarcerated Women and Transgender New Yorkers at Rikers Island Release Petition Protesting Transfers to Upstate Prisons
October 18, 2021 Contact: Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society (rhaskins@legal-aid.org) Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) Sarah Duggan, Brooklyn Defender Services (SDuggan@bds.org) Emily Whitfield, The Bronx Defenders (Ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org) Lupe Todd-Medina, New York County Defender Services (LToddmedina@nycds.org) Hettie Powell, Queens Defenders (hpowell@queensdefenders.org) ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** More than 70 Incarcerated Women and Transgender…
NYC Defenders Statement re: Transfer of Woman and Transgender People Detained on Rikers Island
October 15, 2021 Contact: Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society (rhaskins@legal-aid.org) Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) Daniel Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services (DBall@bds.org) Emily Whitfield, The Bronx Defenders (Ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org) Lupe Todd-Medina, New York County Defender Services (LToddmedina@nycds.org) Hettie Powell, Queens Defenders (hpowell@queensdefenders.org) ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYC Defenders Statement on Plan to Transfer Women…
Joint Defender Statement on Mayor de Blasio’s Comments Concerning New York’s Court System
October 7, 2021 Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society, (rhaskins@legal-aid.org) Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) Daniel Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services (DBall@bds.org) Emily Whitfield, The Bronx Defenders (Ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org) Lupe Todd-Medina, New York County Defender Services (LToddmedina@nycds.org) ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** Joint Defender Statement on Mayor de Blasio’s Comments Concerning New York’s Court System (NEW YORK,…
Attorneys Call for Immediate Release of Detained Immigrants and Demand End to Transfers, As NJ Local Governments End All Contracts with ICE
October 7, 2021 Contacts: Daniel Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services, dball@bds.org Emily Whitfield, The Bronx Defenders, ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society, rhaskins@legal-aid.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYIFUP STATEMENT ON BERGEN COUNTY’S EXIT FROM ICE DETENTION CONTRACT Attorneys Call for Immediate Release of Detained Immigrants and Demand End to Transfers, As NJ Local Governments End All…
In a Win for Millions of New Yorkers, Court Orders NYPD to Stop Accessing Sealed Arrest Records
Court Order Brings Relief for Over 3.5 Million Majority Black and Brown New Yorkers in NYPD’s Massive Searchable Databases MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 CONTACT: Emily Whitfield, ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org (NEW YORK, NY) Saying that a class action lawsuit brought by The Bronx Defenders and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP has a “very strong likelihood of success,”…
Written Testimony of The Bronx Defenders re: Conditions in Our City Jails
New York City Council Committee on Criminal Justice Re: Oversight- The Conditions in Our City’s Jails September 15, 2021 Written Testimony of The Bronx Defenders By Julia Solomons, Orayne Williams, Tahanee Dunn, and Martha Grieco City Council Testimony_ Conditions in City Jails 9_15_2021
NYIFUP Statement on Hudson County’s Imminent Exit from ICE Detention Contract
September 14, 2021 Contacts: Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society, rhaskins@legal-aid.org Daniel Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services, dball@bds.org Emily Whitfield, The Bronx Defenders, ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYIFUP STATEMENT ON HUDSON COUNTY’S IMMINENT EXIT FROM ICE DETENTION CONTRACT Attorneys Call for Immediate Release of Detained Immigrants and Demand End to Transfers (New York, NY) – In response to reports that Hudson County will…
Elected Officials Detail Illegal, Deadly Conditions Inside Rikers Island Following Visit
September 13, 2021 Contact: Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) Daniel Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services (DBall@bds.org) Emily Whitfield, The Bronx Defenders (Ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org ) Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society (rhaskins@legal-aid.org) Lupe Todd-Medina, New York County Defender Services (LToddmedina@nycds.org) ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** Elected Officials Detail Illegal, Deadly Conditions Inside Rikers Island Following Visit…
NYC DEFENDERS’ STATEMENT ON DEATH OF SEGUNDO GUALLPAAT RIKERS ISLAND
August 30, 2021 Contact: Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) Daniel Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services (DBall@bds.org) Emily Whitfield, The Bronx Defenders (Ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org) Press Office, The Legal Aid Society (press@legal-aid.org) Lupe Todd-Medina, New York County Defender Services (LToddmedina@nycds.org) Hettie Powell, Queens Defenders (hpowell@queensdefenders.org) ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYC DEFENDERS’ STATEMENT ON DEATH OF SEGUNDO GUALLPAAT…
NYC Defenders Demand Courthouse Safety as the Delta Variant of COVID-19 Surges in New York City
August 16, 2021 Contact: Press Office, The Legal Aid Society (press@legal-aid.org) Sarah Duggan, Brooklyn Defender Services (SDuggan@bds.org) Emily Whitfield, The Bronx Defenders (Ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org) Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) Lupe Todd-Medina, New York County Defender Services (LToddmedina@nycds.org) ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYC Defenders Demand Courthouse Safety as the Delta Variant of COVID-19 Surges…
NYIFUP Urges Governor Murphy to sign S3361/A5207, Proposed Legislation That Would Prohibit Future ICE Detention Contracts in New Jersey
August 10, 2021 Contacts: Emily Whitfield, The Bronx Defenders, ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org, 917-686-4542 Press Office, The Legal Aid Society, press@legal-aid.org Daniel Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services, dball@bds.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYIFUP Urges Governor Murphy to sign S3361/A5207, Proposed Legislation That Would Prohibit Future ICE Detention Contracts in New Jersey (New York, NY) – The Bronx Defenders,…
The Bronx Defenders Asks Court to Order NYPD to Stop Accessing New Yorkers’ Sealed Arrest Records
THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2021 Contact: Emily Whitfield, ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org The Bronx Defenders Asks Court to Order NYPD to Stop Accessing New Yorkers’ Sealed Arrest Records “Confidential” NYPD Training Documents Obtained Through Lawsuit Show Officers Were Instructed in Violation of Longstanding Privacy Law (NEW YORK, NY) Saying that the NYPD is flouting the law by permitting its…
NYC Defenders’ Statement on the City’s Fiscal Year 2022 Budget
June 1, 2021 Contact: Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society, rhaskins@legal-aid.org Daniel Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services, dball@bds.org Emily Whitfield, The Bronx Defenders, ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org Lupe Todd-Medina, New York County Defender Services LToddmedina@nycds.org Sam McCann, The Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem SMccann@ndsny.org NYC Defenders’ Statement on the City’s Fiscal Year 2022 Budget (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, Neighborhood Defender…
Vox: New York gave every detained immigrant a lawyer. It could serve as a national model.
“Sarah Deri Oshiro, who is now managing director of the immigration practice at the Bronx Defenders, had been working on deportation defense at Varick Street for five years prior to the implementation of the program. She saw a grim reality for detained, unrepresented immigrants, despite the city’s robust network of legal services organizations. “Given the…
Law360: After ‘Dragging Their Feet,’ Bronx DA To Drop Pot Charges
“Eli Northrup, an attorney with the Bronx Defenders, however, told Law360 on Thursday morning that the DA’s office has agreed in conversations with public defenders to identify and dismiss open marijuana cases involving expungeable offenses under the MRTA. In a phone call last week with Ann Mathews, the director of the Bronx Defenders’ criminal practice, Chief…
Queens Daily Eagle: Public defenders call on New York to cancel ICE detention contracts
“Several public defender groups came out in support of a bill introduced in the state legislature that would put an end to paid contracts between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and New York State detention centers last week. The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project, a joint effort between The Legal Aid Society, Bronx Defenders and…
Spectrum News1: Bill would end ICE detention contracts with local jails
“The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project, a coalition that includes the Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services and The Bronx Defenders announced their backing of the bill, which is meant to reduce the power of ICE to separate immigrant families, supporters of the bill said. The measure is taking aim at multiple local governments…
NYIFUP Urges Enactment of the Dignity Not Detention Act in New York State
May 20, 2020 Contacts: Alejandra Lopez, The Legal Aid Society, AILopez@legal-aid.org, 917-294-9348 Daniel Ball Brooklyn Defender Services, dball@bds.org Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYIFUP Urges Enactment of the Dignity Not Detention Act in New York State Proposed Legislation Would End Immigration Detention Contracts with ICE in New York State (New York,…
Cannabis NewsWire: Public Defenders Accuse Bronx DA of Dragging Feet on Dropping Pending Cannabis Cases
“Despite the passage of the recreational cannabis law, those cases are still hovering over people’s heads, says Eli Northrup, a lawyer from Bronx Defenders. For instance, 41 people from the Bronx have been arraigned before court on marijuana charges, and their court dates are coming up. There are also cases involving individuals who, after being arrested, were…