News12: Inmates claim correction officers at Rikers Island are not following COVID-19 safety protocol
“A group of attorneys is demanding the release of federal immigration detainees held in New York and New Jersey, citing a memorandum issued by President Joe Biden’s administration that changed who should be considered a priority for detention and deportation. The letter from Brooklyn Defender Services, the Legal Aid Society and the Bronx Defenders was…
DocumentedNY: Cuomo Approves COVID-19 Vaccine for Food Delivery and Restaurant Workers
“The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services and The Bronx Defenders are demanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement release immigrant detainees following a U.S. Department of Homeland Security memo put out on Jan. 20. The memo demands ICE prioritize national security, then border security, then public safety when embarking on enforcement actions, including when deciding which…
City & State: Why Cuomo’s pandemic policies keep getting challenged in court
“This is just the latest lawsuit against Cuomo that has prompted an abrupt shift in his administration’s pandemic policies. While the lawsuit – which was filed on behalf of inmates by groups including the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, Bronx Defenders and the Legal Aid Society – is the first class action over vaccinations in…
Marijuana Moment: New York Lawmakers Slam Governor’s Marijuana Legalization Plan While Touting Legislature’s Own Bill
“The only way to do marijuana legalization right is by recognizing and acting to reverse the immense damage done by its criminalization, ”Eli Northrup, criminal defense policy counsel at The Bronx Defenders, said in a press release. “We’re calling on lawmakers to pass the MRTA so that Black and brown communities can actually share in…
Law360: NYC Council Speaker Calls On DHS To Fire ICE Field Director
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City & State: The 2021 Nonprofit Power 100
“During Justine Olderman’s time in leadership roles at The Bronx Defenders, she has helped facilitate the expansion of its criminal practice, created an in-house forensic practice group and worked to promote changes to New York’s cash bail system. Under her watch, the legal aid organization has spent the past year pushing for COVID-19 vaccine access…
North Jersey: Attorneys demand release of ICE detainees in NJ and NY, citing Biden administration memo
“A group of attorneys is demanding the release of federal immigration detainees held in New York and New Jersey, citing a memorandum issued by President Joe Biden’s administration that changed who should be considered a priority for detention and deportation. The letter from Brooklyn Defender Services, the Legal Aid Society and the Bronx Defenders was…
New York Daily News: N.Y. deprives city and state inmates of Covid-19 vaccine: suit
“Despite the fact that [the] petitioners face a heightened risk of contracting Covid-19 due to their congregate conditions of confinement, [state officials] have excluded them from access in their current vaccine distribution plan,” says the suit, which was brought by Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, The Bronx Defenders, The Legal Aid Society, the New York…
New York Law Journal: Public Defenders File Lawsuit to Green-Light Inmates for Vaccination
“Public defenders are suing in state court to force New York officials to expand coronavirus vaccine eligibility to inmates, saying the state’s approach is arbitrary and contradicts federal guidance.” Read the full article here
The City: After ‘Horrifying’ Rochester Arrest, City Advocates Call on Cuomo to Keep Kids Out of Cop Hands
“Following the release of body-camera footage that showed Rochester police pepper-spraying a handcuffed 9-year-old girl, New York City advocates are renewing a push to raise the minimum age of criminal prosecution statewide. In a letter sent to Governor Andrew Cuomo and Albany leaders on Wednesday, public defender groups from all five boroughs pushed for passage of legislation that would hike the…
The New York State Senate: Senate To Repeal ‘Walking While Trans’ Law
Deb Lolai, Supervising Attorney in the LGBTQ Defense Project at The Bronx Defenders, said, “We applaud the Senate’s passage of S1351, which will repeal New York’s ‘Walking While Trans’ law. This bill is a critical step toward eliminating enmeshed penalties — such as reduced access to employment, fewer housing options, and punitive immigration consequences —…
Politico: Public defenders threaten to sue Cuomo to allow vaccinations for prisoners
“Public defender groups are threatening to sue Gov. Andrew Cuomo if he does not allow prisoners to get the Covid-19 vaccine. The state has given the green light for correction officers to get the vaccine, but people locked up in state prisons and local jails are not eligible — even as the virus rages inside prisons.” Read the full…
Filter Magazine: New York’s Two Marijuana Legalization Paths: Will Lawmakers Get It Right?
“The two bills also differ on several matters of criminal law. While the MRTA has a provision that the odor of marijuana can’t be used as a basis to stop or search somebody, no similar provision exists in the Governor’s proposal. Eli Northrup, a public defender, said that this difference is significant: “Stop and frisk…
Human Rights Watch: An Innovative Approach to Justice for New York Police Violence
“The Bronx Defenders, a public legal defense organization representing 24 people alleging the New York Police Department (NYPD) committed abuses against them during protests last summer, are taking a different approach to achieving justice. Instead of suing the NYPD, as many other organizations and the New York State Attorney General have done, the Bronx Defenders asked the New York City Comptroller on Tuesday…
Gothamist: Protesters Caught In NYPD’s Violent Mott Haven Crackdown Push For Community Reparations Fund
“Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, an attorney with the Bronx Defenders, which represents the 24-member collective and spearheaded the demand letter, said the reparations fund was conceived as “an answer to police violence that might actually get us to a place of healing, rather than turning to the police departments and asking them to fix their training…
The Appeal: New Jersey Could Force Cuomo’s Hand On Pot Legalization
“Under Cuomo’s plan, while people 21 or older would be able to purchase marijuana, sales to people under the age of 21 would be classified as a felony. It is currently a misdemeanor to sell a small amount of marijuana to a person between 18 and 21 years old. Eli Northrup, a public defender and policy…
PIX 11: Bronx defenders call for reparations over ‘kettling’ arrests
“MOTT HAVEN, the Bronx — Lawyers representing protesters who were injured during a controversial police encounter between a group of Black Lives Matter demonstrators and the NYPD are calling for reparations. Human rights groups have called the confrontation a ‘planned assault.’” Read the full article here
Law360: Could 2021 Be The Year Of Civil Justice Reform?
“The pandemic has also revealed problems in the family law system, especially child protective services, said Erin Miles Cloud, a former family defense attorney with the Bronx Defenders who is now co-president of Movement for Family Power, an activist group seeking to shrink the child welfare system.” Read the full article here
Reason: Cuomo Seems Intent on Screwing up New York’s Marijuana Legalization
“The proposal also doesn’t authorize delivery or point-of-sale marijuana consumption but will leave it to regulators to develop new categories of licenses later on. More bad news about Cuomo’s plan came from public defender Eli Northrup of The Bronx Defenders. He noticed that Cuomo’s plan actually increases the criminal penalty for anybody caught selling marijuana to somebody…
Blackstar News: HRW: NY AG’s Lawsuit Against NYPD May Help Bring Accountability
“In September, Human Rights Watch published a 99-page report focused on one of the dozens of incidents covered in the lawsuit: the NYPD’s June 4 planned assault on protesters in Mott Haven, a low-income, majority Black and brown neighborhood in the South Bronx that has long experienced police brutality and systemic racism. A video produced by Human…
Human Rights Watch: NY Attorney General Sues Police for Violence Against Protesters
“In September, Human Rights Watch published a 99-page report focused on one of the dozens of incidents covered in the lawsuit: the NYPD’s June 4 planned assault on protesters in Mott Haven, a low-income, majority Black and brown neighborhood in the South Bronx that has long experienced police brutality and systemic racism. A video produced by Human Rights Watch…
Univision: Funcionarios y líderes políticos de Nueva York condenan los actos de violencia ocurridos en el Capitolio
“Legisladores como Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Nydia Velásquez y Ritchie Torres calificaron el ataque al Congreso de EEUU como indignante. Por su parte, Andrew Cuomo señaló que se trató de un “intento fallido de golpe de estado”, mientras que Bill de Blasio responsabilizó a Trump de lo ocurrido y de “atacar nuestra democracia”. Los neoyorquinos también han…
Gothamist: Growing Concerns Over City Jails’ Handling Of The Pandemic’s Second Wave
“Correctional Health Services said tests are offered following potential exposure, for disease surveillance or at a patient’s request. But Ann Matthews, managing director of the criminal defense practice at Bronx Defenders, said those in jail still do not have any control over their surroundings and “are at the mercy of others for basic PPE and…
Rise Magazine: Parental Designation: A Way of Planning for the Expected and Unexpected
“Parental designation is a legal option in New York that allows a parent to designate someone you trust to temporarily take care of your child, while maintaining your parental rights and without ACS becoming involved. Here, Jessica Prince, Policy Counsel for the Family Defense Practice at The Bronx Defenders explains how parental designation works and why you…
Davis Vanguard: Bronx Defenders Wonder If There Will Be Real Action after Report on NYPD Violence and Misconduct during George Floyd Protests
“It has taken months for the city to acknowledge what was clear to anyone paying attention this summer: the NYPD’s handling of the protests amounted to an unconscionable, calculated, and violent attack on the entire city. The report lays out a clear picture of a police department that does not see itself as accountable to…