Frank News: Systems Built on Good Intentions are the Most Dangerous: Pt. 1
“This interview with Emma Ketteringham, managing director of the family defense practice at the Bronx Defenders, was conducted and condensed by franknews. The second half of this conversation on the child welfare system can be found here. When I started, I began to talk to my clients about the impact contact with the criminal system had affected their families and I…
New York Law Journal: Bronx Defenders and New York Giants Players Partner Amid George Floyd-Sparked Social Justice Movement
“As the social justice movement against racial discrimination continues in the wake of George Floyd’s death, The Bronx Defenders, one of the city’s largest nonprofit legal advocacies, and the New York Giants pro football team are pairing up “to combat inequities in the criminal, immigration, family, and civil legal systems,” according to a joint news…
City & State: Bronx Power 50
“Justine Olderman was named executive director of Bronx Defenders in 2018, but she has been with the organization since its earliest days. As managing director of the organization’s criminal defense practice, she more than doubled the size of the department and its caseload. As executive director, Olderman sounded the alarm about COVID-19 on Rikers Island…
The Imprint: The Sad Omission of Child Welfare from Mainstream Discussion on Race
“As thousands of Black people and their allies are protesting the systemic racism and police brutality that have been part of the fabric of this society for centuries, some white Americans appear ready to discuss the damage that oppression has done to Black and brown people. Books about anti-racism are flying off the shelves. There are…
Gotham Gazette: Supporting Law Enforcement and Reforming the NYPD are Not Mutually Exclusive — I Know From Experience
“When I joined the NYPD in 2013, I was an unlikely candidate for law enforcement. Nearly a decade earlier, during the 2004 Republican National Convention, I was a passerby arrested at a protest in Union Square. At the invitation of the New York Civil Liberties Union, I joined a class action lawsuit against the City…
Brooklyn Daily Eagle: De Blasio, Shea blame courts for violence; Legal Aid points out courts have arraigned 19,000
“In fact, since mid-March, courts in New York City have held nearly 19,000 arraignments,” said the letter. “By executive order, these individuals’ right to have their cases presented to a grand jury if they are charged with a felony is suspended, as is their right to a speedy trial and other due process protections. Police…
Commercial Observer: Can NYC Reopen Its Housing Courts Safely?
“The legal services groups, which include the Legal Aid Society, the Bronx Defenders and the Brooklyn Defender Services, argued in a statement that the state Office of Court Administration’s plan to reopen the courts “forces our clients to choose between their health and safety and their freedom, and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act in…
NBC News: Video of police abuses and the NYPD trampling the Constitution reveal inefficacy of ‘reform’
“Amid a summer of protest sparked by the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others, much has been said about the importance of “reforming” police departments. But what if those departments cannot be reformed? This week, a video went viral showing the arrest of a young trans woman during a protest. The 18-year-old woman was tackled in broad daylight…
The Appeal: Virtual Hearings Have Created A ‘Caste System’ In America’s Courts
“Particularly problematic is the fact that many courts have closed to all but those hearings determined to be emergencies. The deferment of so many legal proceedings raises its own set of dilemmas, particularly for people who are incarcerated while awaiting a trial. Child welfare cases have proved especially fraught for some parents. Many jurisdictions are…
Gothamist: Pardoned By Cuomo But Detained By ICE, Bronx Immigrant Marks Three Years In ICE Detention
“In a series of court decisions since the pardon, neither immigration nor federal judges have agreed to his release — even on bond. “Black immigrants are treated differently in these court proceedings,” said Sophia Gurulé, his attorney from Bronx Defenders. “For some reason they don’t value the community ties that he has, they don’t value…
ABC News: Detained immigrants demand release from New Jersey jail due to heat wave
“Attorneys for immigrants detained at the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack are demanding they be released amid the heat wave and reports of broken air conditioning at the Hackensack facility, and Eyewitness News took an exclusive tour of the jail to check on conditions. The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, and the Bronx Defenders…
Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Public defenders denied in bid to halt non-emergency in-person court proceedings amid COVID-19
“Put plainly: OCA’s plan puts our clients — mostly low-income New Yorkers of color — at enormous risk for no compelling reason,” said the statement. “We are disappointed that the Southern District of New York allowed OCA to continue down this reckless road.” The six legal aid groups involved in the lawsuit were The Legal…
Document Journal: A new law seeks to expose the NYPD’s secret surveillance technology
“As surveillance technology evolves, New Yorkers will have to balance surveillance power with personal freedoms. In addition to license plate readers, x-ray vans, and stingrays, the NYPD now has a unit dedicated to operating face recognition systems—but it isn’t just being used in the fight against terrorism. “There’s been an explosion in face recognition in the…
New York Law Journal: Public Defenders Blast Ruling Allowing In-Person New York City Criminal Court Appearances
“A group of New York City public defender organizations are opposing a federal judge’s ruling Tuesday to allow state courts to reopen for in-person proceedings, saying the decision put their clients at “enormous risk” during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Read the full article here
1010 Wins: NYPD has access to millions of arrest records meant to be sealed: report
“NYPD officers can access those records via their smartphones, according to the outlet. Legally, the department is supposed to either get rid of arrest records or return them if a person’s case is “terminated in their favor,” the outlet reported. “The court already said the NYPD isn’t allowed to use these documents and share them…
Patch: Reports Of AC Failure At Bergen County Jail As Heat Wave Hits NJ
“The Bergen County Sheriff’s Department reports that temperatures inside the Bergen County jail are currently between 70 and 73 degrees. A group of immigration attorneys say that’s a lie. As temperatures touch the mid-90s, the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project and their legal providers continue to call for the release of their clients held…
Lexology: Public Defenders Sue to Stop In-Court Appearances During COVID
“It is no secret that the COVID crisis poses a risk to criminal defendants, particularly those who are incarcerated or come from at-risk groups. It is also no secret that the New York’s Office of Court Administration (the “OCA”) has been pushing hard to “return to normalcy,” in part to make sure that cases of…
Law360: Federal Judge Axes Suit Over NY Courts Reopening Plan
“The Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services, Legal Aid Society, New York County Defender Services, Neighborhood Service of Harlem and Queens Defenders had argued the courts’ decision was “rushed” and has led to “chaotic” implementation of policies that violate federal civil rights protections including the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. While Judge Carter denied…
NJ.com: ICE detainees should be released because air conditioning is failing in N.J. jail, attorneys say
“A group of attorneys are demanding the release of detained immigrants from the Bergen County jail due to the reports of broken air conditioning systems over the weekend, as the state is in the middle of heat wave and a coronavirus pandemic. The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project sent a letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after…
UPenn Law: Fewer Stays, Fewer Days: The Bronx Defenders and How Holistic Defense Reduces Mass Incarceration
“In 2019, the Harvard Law Review published a quantitative study by researchers from the RAND Corporation and Penn Law’s Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice entitled “The Effects of Holistic Defense on Criminal Justice Outcomes.” They compared with the traditional model of public defense with the holistic model practiced by the Bronx Defenders…
HuffPost: The NYPD Can See Millions Of Arrest Records That Were Supposed To Be Sealed
“According to the NYPD’s court filing, the DAS “can access a copy of each sealed arrest report that exists in the Crime Data Warehouse.” It’s a “horrifying” admission, said Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, an attorney from Bronx Defenders who represents the plaintiffs in the case. “The court already said the NYPD isn’t allowed to use these…
The Grio: Despite a shield law, NYPD can access millions of sealed arrest records
“NYPD’s “Crime Data Warehouse contained 6,908,699 sealed arrest reports containing the arrest information of 3,576,113 unique individuals, as of November 20, 2019,” the filing states. Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, an attorney from Bronx Defenders, is defending the plaintiffs in the case. Borchetta said the alleged activity was “horrifying,” and that the NYPD was failing to follow…
The Appeal: New York City Public Defenders Oppose Resuming In-Person Court Appearances
“Resuming in-person court appearances won’t accomplish much, New York City public defenders argue. Critical deadlines for criminal cases remain suspended. And while the logistics around virtual court at times can be frustrating, the resumption of non-essential, in-person appearances at this stage does little more than endanger communities, said Ann Mathews, managing director of the criminal…
Broadway World: The Play Company Presents Mini-Commissions by Katie Brook & Trish Harnetiaux, William Burke and More
“PlayCo is also collaborating with community partner Bronx Defenders and the team behind Sarah Einspanier‘s Lunch Bunch (a play inspired by the Bronx Defenders’ own lunch bunches) to create a podcast. Lunch Bunch was initially scheduled to be performed in March & April, in a production presented with Clubbed Thumb and directed by Tara Ahmadinejad, but has been postponed….
Urban CNY: Assemblymember Hunter’s bill to end driver’s license suspensions due to traffic debt passes Assembly
“We applaud Assembly Member Hunter for her leadership and the Assembly for passing the Driver’s License Suspension Reform Act and taking a major step forward to end the cruel and counterproductive criminalization of poverty,” said Ranit Patel, Equal Justice Works Fellow sponsored by the Venture Justice Fund at The Bronx Defenders. “Suspending driver’s licenses due…