The Guardian: Federal judge orders NYPD to stop using stop-and-frisk tactic in the Bronx
A federal judge has dealt a significant blow to the New York police department’s controversial stop-and-frisk policy, declaring that officers had “systematically” engaged in unconstitutional activity by searching residents outside thousands of private apartments in the city. Manhattan federal court judge Shira Scheindlin said the NYPD must immediately halt the practice of conducting trespass stops…
“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…
New York Law Journal: Guardian Ordered to Assist Tenant in Termination Hearing
The decision annuls a New York City Housing Authority hearing officer’s refusal to set aside a determination terminating the tenancy of a woman with mental problems, and remands the case for a new hearing. – The tenant was represented by Anna Arkin-Gallagher of the Bronx Defenders. “We are happy the court agreed that NYCHA has…
The Bronx Defenders Joins Advocates and Lawmakers in Condemning the Activation of Secure Communities Program in New York
May 15, 2012 The Bronx Defenders Joins Advocates and Federal and State Lawmakers in Condemning the Activation of Secure Communities Program in New York The Bronx Defenders re-affirmed today its long-standing opposition to the activation of the Secure Communities program in New York. Under Secure Communities, individuals may be deported as a result of any…
The Atlantic: In New York, a 20-Year-Old Policy Suddenly Prompts a Lawsuit
In late March, three civil rights groups filed a class action lawsuit against the New York City police department, alleging that a little-known crime-fighting program violated the constitutional rights of tens of thousands of New Yorkers. The program, called Operation Clean Halls, permits police to conduct vertical patrols inside and around private residences, seeking out…
The New York Times: Stop and Frisk, Continued
On our ‘Clean Halls’ class action lawsuit with co-counsel NYCLU and LatinoJustice PRLDEF – The Bloomberg administration and its police commissioner, Raymond Kelly, have been disturbingly dismissive of complaints about the city’s program of stops, frisks and arrests that is ensnaring hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers each year. Civil rights lawsuits may now force…
The Village Voice: NYPD Clean Halls Program Faces Legal Challenge
Later this morning, civil liberties advocates will announce a new challenge to the controversial NYPD program of patrolling the hallways of thousands of privately-owned buildings. Private owners enroll in the program, known as Operation Clean Halls, which has swelled in Manhattan alone to at least 3,895 buildings. The program envisioned as a way for police…
WNYC: NYPD Conducts Suspicionless Stops in Private Buildings: Suit
A federal class action was filed against New York City and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly on Wednesday for what plaintiffs allege are suspicionless stops within private residential buildings. Under the NYPD’s enforcement of a program known as Operation Clean Halls, a landlord enters into an agreement with the NYPD, which grants officers permission to patrol…
WNYC The Brian Lehrer Show: Loitering Settlement
McGregor Smyth, managing attorney in the civil action practice at Bronx Defenders, discusses the recent class action suit around improper loitering violations. Listen here.
Kate Rubin and David Miranda spoke at the NYC Department of Probation
Kate Rubin, Director of Policy & Community Development, and David Miranda, Attorney in the Civil Action Practice, spoke at the NYC Department of Probation’s First Annual Professional Development Day about helping clients understand and navigate civil legal barriers on January 24, 2012.
Reuters: U.S. judge limits stop and frisk searches in New York’s Bronx
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the New York Police Department to immediately stop conducting trespass stops outside certain residential buildings in the borough of the Bronx without “reasonable suspicion” that an individual is engaged in criminal activity. U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin issued her ruling in the narrowest of three main lawsuits challenging New…
Amsterdam News: Hands Off: Black community responds to U.S. District Court ruling of NYPD’s “Clean Halls” as unconstitutional
Could this be the first step to eliminating “stop and frisk?” On Tuesday morning, a U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge ruled that the New York Police Department’s “Clean Halls Program” violated the constitutional rights of New York City residents. According to Judge Shira A. Scheindlin, for years the NYPD…
The Huffington Post: Stop-And-Frisk Without Suspicion Must Cease In The Bronx, Judge Says
NEW YORK — The New York City Police Department likely turned a blind eye to violations of the constitutional rights of thousands of individuals detained at private residential buildings in the Bronx in a stop-and-frisk program that’s under assault in the courts, a federal judge said Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin said the department’s…
McGregor Smyth spoke at the 2011 Symposium “Sentencing Law: Rhetoric
On October 29, McGregor Smyth, Managing Attorney of our Civil Action Practice, spoke about the civil consequences of conviction at the 2011 Symposium “Sentencing Law: Rhetoric & Reality” at University of Pennsylvania Law School. For more information: http://www.pennumbra.com/symposia/
McGregor Smyth trained more than 200 public defenders at South Carolina Public Defender Association Annual Conference
On September 27, McGregor Smyth, Managing Attorney of our Civil Action Practice, trained more than 200 public defenders at the South Carolina Public Defender Association Annual Conference on how to use the Supreme Court’s decision in Padilla v. Kentucky to get better results for clients. For more information: http://www.sccid.sc.gov/userfiles/PD-Conference-2011/2011-Agenda-Final—9-14-11.pdf
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…
Article on Padilla published in the Howard Law Journal by McGregor Smyth
Article published in the Howard Law Journal by McGregor Smyth, Managing Attorney of the Civil Action Practice and Director of Reentry Net, examines the practical effect of Padilla for criminal defense attorneys currently working with clients on pending cases. The article uses the legal reasoning of Padilla to outline a structure for approaching the daunting…
Robin, McGregor, and Jennifer presented at the “Padilla and the Future of the Defense Function conference at Cordozo Law
Robin Steinberg, Executive Director, McGregor Smyth, Managing Attorney of the Civil Action Practice, and Jennifer Friedman, Supervising Immigration Attorney in the Civil Action Practice, presented at the “Padilla and the Future of the Defense Function” conference at the Jacob Burns Ethics Center in the Practice of Law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law on June 20-21,…
The Crime Report: Can the ‘Holistic Approach’ Solve The Crisis in Public Defense?
The Bronx Defenders’ method of Holistic Defense is explained in the article “Can the ‘Holistic Approach’ Solve The Crisis in Public Defense?” on thecrimereport.org. Can the ‘Holistic Approach’ Solve The Crisis in Public Defense? “Making changes in a resource-strained small county [Washoe County, Nevada] of 400,000 people seemed , however, all but impossible—until Bosler heard…
McGregor spoke at “The Aftermath of Padilla v. Kentucky” conference at Saint Louis University School of Law
McGregor Smyth, Managing Attorney of Civil Action Practice & Reentry Net Director, spoke at “The Aftermath of Padilla v. Kentucky: A New Era For Plea Bargaining and Sentencing?” conference at Saint Louis University School of Law. He was on the panel “An examination of the effects or potential effects of Padilla on some of the…
New York Daily News: Key city players trying to help ease anxious immigrants’ worries over deportation
A new, nationwide legal task force with key city players is helping anxious immigrants who face deportation because of petty crimes they pled guilty to years ago. A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that lawyers have a constitutional obligation to inform clients they might be deported if they plead guilty has reenergized defender groups across…
McGregor awarded the Kutak-Dodds Prize
n recognition of his efforts to ensure equal justice for all people regardless of ability to pay, the National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) announced today that McGregor Smyth, the Managing Attorney of the Civil Action Practice, is this year’s winner of the Kutak-Dodds Prize, alongside Alan Alop, Deputy Director for Intake Offices, Legal…
From Arrest to Reintegration: A Model for Mitigating Collateral Consequences of Criminal Proceedings
By McGregor Smyth. Collateral sanctions. Invisible punishments. Internal exile. From the moment of arrest, people are in danger of losing jobs, housing, basic public benefits, and even the right to live in this country. For many, these hardships are far more severe than the criminal charges confronting them. In New York, a plea to disorderly…
Cross-Sector Collaboration in Reentry: Building an Infrastructure for Change
By McGregor Smyth. Investment in an infrastructure for cross-sector collaboration is key to breaking the vicious cycle of poverty and crime. The criminal justice system is the institution with the single most pervasive impact on communities of poverty and of color. In those communities interaction with the police and courts, as well as incarceration, has…
Public Benefits and Child Support Arrears
By McGregor Smyth. Individuals who are released from prison or jail and who need financial assistance until they are able to get on their feet are likely to apply for aid both from Safety Net Assistance (“SNA”), the New York State public assistance program for adults who do not share a household with children, and…