Support The Bronx Defenders.
Events
Client Emergency Fund 10th Anniversary Happy Hour
Every day, The Bronx Defenders zealously defends people in court and fights to keep families together. But we know that it is just as important to serve the community out of the courtroom, as well. 10 years ago, BxD began The Client Emergency Fund, a program which provides immediate and impactful direct assistance to individuals…
The Crime Report: U.S. Legal System Accused of Abetting Racism
“Fixing the flaws in the U.S. legal system “will take a lot more than prosecutors,” Wesley Caines, chief of staff at The Bronx Defenders, told a webinar convened to discuss innovative prosecutorial responses to violence Thursday. “Maybe it’s time for a constitutional convention,” he said.” Read the full article here
Go The Distance For Families
The Bronx Defenders is organizing its second annual virtual race campaign, “Go the Distance for Families,” from Monday, June 7, 2021, to Tuesday, July 6, 2021, to benefit our Client Emergency Fund. COVID-19 pandemic has killed over 33,000 people in New York City and initiated the worst economic downturn in almost a century. As the…
Policy Summit
Are you a member of the Bronx community? Are you interested in advocating for laws and policies that will create a more fair, just, and equitable legal system? Do you want to ensure that policy reforms reflect the needs and wants of our community? Then we need you! Join The Bronx Defenders for our 2nd…
Defenders’ Academy 2020
BxD is holding its annual Defenders’ Academy, a five-day intensive trial skills program for criminal and family defenders, from March 23-27, 2020. Participants are challenged to combine persuasive advocacy with a mastery of fundamental trial skills.
BxD Community Day of Action
Join The Bronx Defenders (BxD) on February 12, 2020 as we head to Albany and advocate for reforms that create a more fair, just, and equitable legal system.
Annual Block Party 2019
Join us for a day of fun activities at our BxD Annual Block Party. Meet us and let’s celebrate our community together. We’ll have food, beverages, games, music, performances, face painting, pony rides, resource tables with information for the community, and loads of festive activities. The block party will be held on Wednesday, July 17, 2019…
Join us July 11th for our Community Block Party!
It’s time for The Bronx Defenders’ Annual Community Block Party! Join us for a day of music, dance, free food, pony rides, carnival games, health & legal info, voter registration, community advocacy groups, and much more. When: July 11th, 12pm – 4pm Where: 160th Street between Melrose & Courtlandt Ave *Admission is FREE* We can’t…
Annual Celebration of Families
Join us Friday, June 22nd for our Annual Celebration of Families! The American Bar Association designated June as National Reunification Month to celebrate the accomplishments of parents in getting their children home. To commemorate this special month and the importance it holds for our clients who are parents, The Bronx Defenders hosts an Annual Celebration of Families event each…
Police Brutality Community Forum
On May 16, 2018, The Bronx Defenders is hosting a community forum about commonplace forms of police brutality, including physical violence, harassment, and abuse. We want to hear directly from New Yorkers who have experienced or witnessed these problems in their communities. WHEN: 5:30PM – 8:00PM, Wednesday, May 16, 2018 WHERE: 360 161st St, Bronx, New York The event…
Defenders’ Academy: Spring Training 2018
Defenders’ Academy: Spring Training is a six-day intensive trial skills program for all defenders (criminal, civil and family) hosted at CUNY Law School. Students participate in small group sessions where they receive expert coaching and individual video review. Impeachment, foundation and objection skills are reinforced with drills. Our program challenges litigators to conceptualize classic trial…
Bronx Warrant-Clearance Event Saturday at Eastchester Presbyterian Church
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark will host an amnesty event on Saturday, August 5th, 2017, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Eastchester Presbyterian Church in the Bronx to give New Yorkers an opportunity to clear up open warrants for low-level summonses without fear of arrest. Attorneys and advocates from The Bronx Defenders…
BxD’s Annie Pineda to speak at 2016 Equal Justice Conference
On May 12, 2016, Annie Pineda, Director of Pro Bono at The Bronx Defenders, will speak at the 2016 Equal Justice Conference in a panel entitled “Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All about You: What Legal Services Organizations and Law Firms Should Know about Working Together.” From the organizers: “This session will offer insider…
Runa Rajagopal to speak at panel at John Jay College on nuisance abatement and broken windows
Runa Rajagopal, Director of Civil Action Practice at The Bronx Defenders, will join the following panel on Friday, May 6, 2016, as part of the Bridging the Divide Series at John Jay College in New York City. Panel: Nuisance Abatement And Broken Windows Eli B. Silverman, Professor Emeritus, author of NYPD Battles Crime: Innovative Strategies in Policing;…
BxD Social Workers and Advocates to present at the 2016 NOFSW Conference
Social workers and civil legal advocates from The Bronx Defenders will present the following two workshops at the 2016 National Organization of Forensic Social Work (NOFSW) Conference in New Orleans, LA, on June 17-19, 2016. Saturday, June 18 (3:15-4:45) Developing Written Advocacy Skills: Persuasion and Disruption This workshop will provide instruction on how to develop…
BxD’s Robyn Mar to present at “Resetting Bail — The Price of Justice in New York City”
Robyn Mar, Deputy Director of the Criminal Defense Practice at The Bronx Defenders, will present at an event at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, entitled “Resetting Bail — The Price of Justice in New York City,” on Wednesday, May 11, 2016. The event is hosted by the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and…
The New Yorker: Sonia from the Bronx
Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, says that she prefers to be called Sonia from the Bronx. Chances are nobody who meets her ever dreams of calling her anything so informal. When she came back to her native borough last week for an Evening of Conversation at the Bronx Defenders, a nonprofit…
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor Speaks at The Bronx Defenders
On Monday, January 25th, The Bronx Defenders hosted U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor for an evening of conversation at its justice campus in the South Bronx. Local community members, staff members and supporters of The Bronx Defenders were present. The conversation between Robin Steinberg, Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders, and Justice Sotomayor…
Bronx Times: Annual block party held by Bronx Defenders
The Bronx Defenders held their 2015 Community Block Party on Wednesday, July 8 at the organization’s headquarters of 360 E. 161st Street. The block party included a barbecue, performances from local musicians, face painting, basketball tournaments, balloon animals, pony rides, carnival games, and other activities. By Steven Goodstein To see photos click here.
BxD’s Elizabeth Keeney presented at NLADA’s Community Oriented Defender Network Annual Conference
BxD’s Managing Director of Social Worker, Elizabeth Keeney, presented at the NLADA’s Community Oriented Defender Network Annual Conference on Wednesday, July 15th, 2015. She participated on the panel “Mandatory Reporting for Social Workers in Defender Offices.” A description of the panel: All 50 states and the District of Columbia have enacted some permutation of mandatory…
BxD Social Workers and Advocates to present at the 2015 NOFSW Conference
On August 21-23, 2015, four of The Bronx Defenders’ Social Workers and Civil Legal Advocates will be presenting on two panels at the 2015 National Organization of Forensic Social Work (NOFSW) Conference in Arlington, VA. The 32nd Annual NOFSW Conference, entitled “Forensic Practice: Promoting Social Justice for All Through Policy and Practice Reform,” is committed to advancing a new…
BxD to conduct free legal clinic on employment and housing issues related to criminal records
Next Monday, June 29, 2015, The Bronx Defenders, together with the office of New York City Council Member Andy King, Power of Faith Ministry, and Gunhill Civic Group, will be hosting a free legal clinic for community members. The legal clinic will address criminal record errors on rap sheets (i.e. when things come up on a criminal background…
Commemorating clients’ strength and courage at BxD’s annual Celebration of Families
Last Friday, June 12, we welcomed over 30 of our clients’ families to The Bronx Defenders’ Justice Campus for an evening of festivities at the Celebration of Families! With musical performances by B.E.A.T. NYC, arts and crafts, a large meal with food donated by local establishments and staff, a raffle with all donated prizes, and inspiring client…
Bronx Defenders advocates present at NASW Addictions Institute conference
Yesterday, June 3, 2015, four Bronx Defenders advocates presented at the National Association of Social Workers, New York City Chapter (NASW-NYC) 47th Annual Addictions Institute conference, “Marijuana and Emerging Drugs: Evolving Perceptions in Addictions.” Bronx Defenders Parent Advocate Dinah Ortiz and Social Worker Sarah Cremer presented on the presumptions and prejudice surrounding drug use by pregnant…
The Bronx Defenders wraps up its 2015 Defenders’ Academy Spring Training Program!
The Bronx Defenders wrapped up another session of our nationally renowned Defenders’ Academy Spring Training yesterday. Over six days, 74 participants from over a dozen different organizations – ranging from public defender offices to private firms to the U.S. military – came together at The Bronx Defenders Justice Campus to partake in an intensive trial skills program…