Shelby County Public Defenders Begin Work with Bronx Defenders
The Bronx Defenders is working with the Law Offices of the Shelby County Public Defender in Memphis for the next six months to a build a lasting framework centered on holistic representation of their clients. Check out their write-up of their trip to the Bronx: Shelby County Public Defenders Begin Work with Bronx Defenders: Grant…
What Went Wrong: Courts Explore New Ways To Deal With Heavy Caseloads, Overflowing Jails
At one Bronx office, the public defenders see each new client more as an opportunity than a burden. Every new case is a chance to make sure the defenders never need to represent that person again. The Bronx Defenders work from a gleaming new office building near Yankee Stadium, right up the street from the…
Robin Steinberg spoke about Holistic Defense at the Community-Oriented Defender Network Conference
On July 25-26, 2013, the Brennan Center for Justice and the NLADA held the Community-Oriented Defender Network Conference on “The Meaning of Gideon: The Clients, The Counsel, The Community”. Our Executive Director, Robin Steinberg, presented on two panels — the first on public defense & media and the second on “holistic defense”. To see the…
The Champion: Criminal Justice in the 21st Century: Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Criminal Justice System
Our Executive Director Robin Steinberg wrote an article on racial disparities in the criminal justice system that was featured in The Champion. The article draws from discussions at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ conference report, Criminal Justice in the 21st Century: Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Criminal Justice System. An excerpt…
Char-Koosta News: Presentation explores affects of stress with law enforcement, arrests
PABLO — In 2011 the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Defense office received an award from the Center for Holistic Defense sponsored by the Bronx Public Defenders office in New York for technical assistance that uses a holistic approach that allows the tribal defense team to be client-centered with limited financial resources. The award is…
Announcing the new Bronx Defenders website
The Bronx Defenders is pleased to announce the launch of our new website! We hope you can take the time to explore our site and support the work that we do for and alongside our clients, their families and their communities. Key highlights from this new site include: How We Work – an interactive visual…
Alex Sierck spoke on a webinar panel “Defender Initiatives in Indian Country”
On June 11, 2013, Alex Sierck, Project Director of the Center for Holistic Defense, spoke on a webinar panel entitled “Defender Initiatives in Indian Country.” The panel discussed how recent legislation has affected tribal courts and the tribal defender community and examined how two tribal defender initiatives are enhancing the provision of justice and improving…
Heeding Gideon’s Call in the Twenty-First Century: Holistic Defense and the New Public Defense Paradigm
By Robin G. Steinberg, 70 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 961, Washington and Lee Law Review (Spring 2013) In September of 1997, eight public defenders squeezed into a small storefront office between a Radio Shack and a Rent-A-Center across the street from the courthouse in the South Bronx to practice a new kind of public…
Five members of our Family Defense Practice to speak at the American Bar Association National Parent Attorneys Conference
On July 10th and 11th, 2013, Keith Baumann, Emma Ketteringham, Helen Montalvan, Ryan Napoli, Lauren Teichner are all scheduled to speak at the American Bar Association’s National Parent Attorneys Conference in Washington, D.C. They will lead various workshop sessions including one on Daubert and Frye hearings in Family Court, the drug war in child civil…
The New Yorker: Annals of Law: Rights and Wrongs
A Judge Takes on Stop & Frisk. Article by Jeffrey Toobin. Excerpt: “…Bradley took the ticket to the offices of the Bronx Defenders, who have pioneered what they call “holistic defense,” a method based on recognizing that, for criminal defendants like Bradley, deportation, eviction, or the loss of parental rights may be more ruinous than conviction…
The Take Away: Searching for Justice in the South Bronx
As the executive director of the Bronx Defenders, a public defense and legal services organization, Robin Steinberg has spent her career demanding justice for the residents of the poorest Congressional district in the nation. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright, the landmark Supreme Court case that requires states to provide attorneys…
CUNY TV: Why Bronx Defenders founder Robin Steinberg became a public defender
Robin G. Steinberg, executive director of The Bronx Defenders, discusses her reasons for deciding early on in her legal career, to represent the poor, people of color, the under-served. The Bronx Defenders, an organization of 190 lawyers, social workers and advocates, is committed to “providing inclusive and extensive services” to Bronx residents charged with crimes….
Criminal Justice Matters on CUNY TV: Equal Justice for All? Life After Gideon
The right to a lawyer, regardless of whether you can afford it, has been a cornerstone of American justice for 50 years, ever since a landmark US Supreme Court ruling in 1963. But thousands of Americans–and New Yorkers—still can’t exercise that right. New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman discusses what our courts and politicians…
Bill Moyers: Redefining Public Defense
Fifty years ago, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Gideon vs. Wainwright that criminal defendants have the constitutional right to legal representation, whether they can afford it or not. But today’s public defenders are overworked and underpaid, and the scales of justice still tilt heavily in favor of the wealthy. An organization in…
Justine Olderman speaks at News Conference in Albany on the 50th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright
On March 18th, 2013, Justine Olderman made remarks about holistic defense at a news conference in Albany on the 50th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright. The statement was made in conjunction with other public defender organizations and political leaders with the theme: “On 50th Anniversary, Fulfill Gideon’s Promise.” For more information click here
The Center for Holistic Defense Request for Proposals: Technical Assistance Project
The Center for Holistic Defense at The Bronx Defenders The 2013 Holistic Defense for Public Defender Offices Technical Assistance Project Request for Proposals The Center for Holistic Defense, a project of The Bronx Defenders, is pleased to announce the release of its fourth annual Technical Assistance Project Request For Proposals seeking applications from public defender…
New York Times: In South Bronx, Legal Aid and Shoulders to Lean On
A sprawling, sunny room beckons invitingly with black couches and bright accent pillows for relaxing, bookshelves with novels to borrow for an hour or a week, a pair of children’s tables, outlets for recharging cellphones and free coffee. This is the newest hub for justice in the South Bronx: a public defenders’ office that looks…
Justine Olderman spoke at the 8th Annual Harry Frank Guggenehim Symposium on Crime in America
On February 4, 2013, Justine Olderman spoke at the 8th Annual Harry Frank Guggenheim Symposium on Crime in America at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. Her remarks on bail reform and Holistic Defense were part of the panel entitled “Rethinking Pre-Trial Detention” and are captured in part here.
Robin Steinberg spoke at Washington & Lee University’s symposium “Gideon at 50: Reassessing the Right to Counsel”
On November 8, 2012, Robin Steinberg spoke on a panel entitled “Gideon, Strickland, and the Right to Effective Representation” at Washington & Lee University. The event was part of a larger symposium discussing the 50th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright. See event details here. Video of the panel here:
“Collateral” No More: The Practical Imperative for Holistic Defense in a Post-Padilla World”
By McGregor Smyth. One warm night last summer, Terrence was hanging out with some friends on a South Bronx sidewalk when two police officers approached and forced them to empty their pockets. Terrence received a summons for having a marijuana cigarette. A month later he showed up in the criminal courthouse by Yankee Stadium to…
Reuters Legal: ABA urges criminal defense lawyers to embrace holistic approach
ALBANY, N.Y., Aug 7 (Reuters) – The American Bar Association is calling on criminal defense attorneys to take a holistic approach to representing clients in order to reduce recidivism. The group’s House of Delegates on Monday approved a resolution that “urges” defense lawyers and defender groups to address clients’ “inter-related” criminal, civil and non-legal problems….
Robin spoke at the Washington Defenders Association 2012 Defender Conference
Robin Steinberg delivered the keynote address and also spoke to managers about the vision and definition of public defense on Friday, April 27, 2012 in Winthrop, Washington. For more information here.
From “Collateral” to “Integral”: The Seismic Evolution of Padilla v. Kentucky and Its Impact on Penalties Beyond Deportation
By McGregor Smyth. From the moment of arrest, people charged with crimes find themselves caught in a web of punitive sanctions, in danger of losing their jobs, homes, children, and right to live in this country. Politicians over the past thirty years, eager to be “tough on crime” at the expense of being smart on…
The Center for Holistic Defense Announces Technical Assistance Winners
Bronx, New York—May 16, 2011—The Center for Holistic Defense (“The Center”), a project of The Bronx Defenders, in collaboration with The Center for Court Innovation, is pleased to announce this year’s recipients of The Holistic Defense for Public Defender Offices Technical Assistance Project. 2011 Participants of The Holistic Defense Technical Assistance Project Harris County Courts—Texas…
Robin spoke to the Colorado Public Defenders at The University of Denver
Robin Steinberg, our Executive Director, spoke to the Colorado Public Defenders and Defense Bar at The University of Denver. The training was titled: “Better Serving our Clients: Holistic and Client Centered Representation.” Robin spoke in two sessions: “Holistic Representation: The Bronx Defenders Model” and “How Do I Make This Happen? Resources and Parameters”.