New York Daily News: NYC’s 5 DA offices wound up with recordings of confidential jailhouse calls between inmates and lawyers
“[We] demand a full account as to how this was allowed to occur so that we can fully understand and assess the breadth and depth of this breach, how many of our clients cases were implicated, how this information was used, and whether these violations were of such a prejudicial nature that dismissal of the…
New York Daily News: NYC Correction Department officials brushed off concerns about recorded jailhouse calls between inmates and legal advisers
“[We are calling] for an immediate end to all recording of phone calls made by people incarcerated in New York City jails,” the Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, The Legal Aid Society, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, New York County Defender Services, and Queens Defenders said in a joint statement. Read the full article…
New York Daily News: Over 1,500 private phone calls between NYC jail inmates and legal advisers wrongly recorded, audits show
“Criminal defendants have a constitutional right to lawyers and legal counsel — and New York law says their communications with lawyers and others helping their cases is strictly confidential. The Correction Department first heard about the system screw up in December when several Bronx defenders flagged the issue, sources said. The department requested an audit…
Bronx Defenders Statement On The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 And American Dream and Promise Act of 2021
March 11, 2021 Contact: Ryan Karerat, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** BRONX DEFENDERS STATEMENT ON THE U.S. CITIZENSHIP ACT OF 2021 AND AMERICAN DREAM AND PROMISE ACT OF 2021 (Bronx, NY) – Last month, the White House and Congress unveiled the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 and the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021 in…
AMNY: Solitary ending at NYC jails, but incarcerated at Rikers need more COVID-19 vaccines
“Justine Olderman, executive director of The Bronx Defenders, said that calls for adequate care and warnings were met with “indifference” that led to the deaths of people in custody. “COVID is still as dangerous today as it was a year ago. Rikers is still overcrowded, people still can’t socially distance from one another. They still…
Bronx Defenders Statement on Mayor de Blasio’s Police Reform Plan
NEW YORK – Mayor de Blasio today released a proposed police ‘reform and reinvention’ plan for New York City as mandated by Governor Cuomo’s executive order 203. Justine Olderman, Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders, issued the following response: “While the Mayor claims that this plan was developed with community input, that is not the…
CATO Institute: Evidentiary Seizures Let Police Take Your Smartphone. They Don’t Have to Give It Back.
“Of course, this practice isn’t just limited to New York. For example, during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement last year, police in Richmond, VA conducted targeted seizures of smartphones from activists. But what makes New York’s system so interesting is that, following a class action lawsuit from the Bronx Defenders settled in 2018, we now…
Forbes: The Empire State Of Cannabis: Clues For The Congress In New York’s Legalization Debate
“The CRTA provision was unacceptable for social justice activists, including Eli Northrup, policy counsel for The Bronx Defenders, who said, “If criminal penalties exist for marijuana, those laws are not going to be enforced evenly. They’re going to be enforced disproportionately for people of color.” Read the full article here
Letter Re: Public Comment on the NYPD’s Draft Impact & Use Policies for the Criminal Group Database and Social Network Analysis Tools
Sent via Email The New York City Police Department 1 Police Plaza New York, NY 10038 postact@nypd.org Re: Public Comment on the NYPD’s Draft Impact & Use Policies for the Criminal Group Database and Social Network Analysis Tools To Whom It May Concern, On behalf of The Bronx Defenders (“BxD”), Center for Constitutional Rights (“CCR”), …
Public Defenders, Advocates Ask Court to Force State to Offer Vaccine to Incarcerated People Immediately
Public Defenders, Advocates Ask Court to Force State to Offer Vaccine to Incarcerated People Immediately February 25, 2021 CONTACT Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (smccann@ndsny.org) Arianna Fishman, New York Civil Liberties Union (afishman@nyclu.org) Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society (rhaskins@legal-aid.org) Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders (rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org) Daniel Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services (Dball@bds.org) (NEW…
Gothamist: Cuomo Changes His Marijuana Legalization Plan Following Widespread Criticism
“Eli Northrup, an attorney with the Bronx Defenders who raised concerns about Cuomo’s initial proposal, said these changes look promising, although he hasn’t seen the new version of the bill. But he added that more remains to be done. “It’s still a misdemeanor to possess any amount of illicit cannabis under his proposal,” noted Northrup….
City & State: Can legalizing pot help communities heal?
“Despite roughly equal usage of marijuana among racial groups, data has shown that Black and Latino men get arrested and ticketed for marijuana offenses at eight times the rate of white men in New York City, even as enforcement has declined under Mayor Bill de Blasio. This policing disparity exists in communities throughout the state. And the existing data likely…
AMNY: Civil rights groups hold town hall to discuss NYPD reforms around ‘decriminalizing’ protests
“Daniel Lambright of the Bronx Defenders discussed the numerous protest-related lawsuits that have been filed over the past year including Payne v. De Blasio, People v. City of New York and Wood v. City of New York among others. Lambright’s main view is that “police use excessive force in policing against protestors … they retaliate…
CNY Central: More deaths hit NY State prisons, sparking a push for a vaccination distribution plan
“Advocacy and grassroots organizations who are members of the Justice Roadmap, including Center for Community Alternatives, The #HALT Solitary Confinement Campaign, Release Aging People in Prison, Bronx Defenders, New York Immigration Coalition, Immigrant Defense Project, Drug Policy Alliance, and New York Communities for Change.” Read the full article here
Gothamist: Cuomo And State Democrats Still At Odds Over How To Legalize Marijuana
“Eli Northrup, an attorney with the Bronx Defenders, said the governor’s proposal also doesn’t go far enough to remove criminal penalties for marijuana-related offenses and in some cases criminalizes them further. “Right now, it’s a misdemeanor to sell a small amount of marijuana to someone under the age of 21, but the governor’s proposal would…
Manhattan Times: New town halls focus on police reform
“The planned town halls will culminate in a report that will be submitted to the New York City Council in March to inform the Council’s consideration of the reform proposal. Co-sponsors involved in the series of forums include the Anti-Violence Project, The Audre Lorde Project, The Bronx Defenders, Center for Constitutional Rights, New York Civil…
Manhattan Times: New town halls focus on police reform
“The planned town halls will culminate in a report that will be submitted to the New York City Council in March to inform the Council’s consideration of the reform proposal. Co-sponsors involved in the series of forums include the Anti-Violence Project, The Audre Lorde Project, The Bronx Defenders, Center for Constitutional Rights, New York Civil…
MarketWatch: How soon will New York vaccinate its prisoners?
“On Thursday, Fischer’s organization, joined by the Legal Aid Society, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Bronx Defenders and Brooklyn Defender Services, filed a lawsuit at the state Supreme Court in the Bronx, demanding that vaccines be provided immediately to everyone behind bars. “Beyond politics and an animus toward incarcerated people,” Fischer said, “there’s…
Black News: Prison Advocates File Lawsuit Against Cuomo’s Prison/Jail Vaccination Plan
“Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, The Bronx Defenders, The Legal Aid Society, the New York Civil Liberties Union, and Brooklyn Defender Services filed an Article 78 petition Thursday on behalf of all individuals held in New York City jails. The petition alleges that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s refusal to include all incarcerated people in the pool…
MarketWatch: How soon will New York vaccinate its prisoners?
“On Thursday, Fischer’s organization, joined by the Legal Aid Society, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Bronx Defenders and Brooklyn Defender Services, filed a lawsuit at the state Supreme Court in the Bronx, demanding that vaccines be provided immediately to everyone behind bars. “Beyond politics and an animus toward incarcerated people,” Fischer said, “there’s…
Democrat & Chronicle: Advocates call for the Raise the Lower Age Act
“The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, Bronx Defenders, Queens Defenders and Neighborhood Defenders of Harlem sent a letter to Governor Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, calling for legislation to raise the minimum age of delinquency jurisdiction from 7 to 12, thus ending the arrest and subsequent prosecution of children…
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…
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…
Press Release: Marijuana Legalization Advocates Hold Lobby Day to Urge Lawmakers to Center Racial & Economic Justice by Passing MRTA
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** Marijuana Legalization Advocates Hold Lobby Day to Urge Lawmakers to Center Racial & Economic Justice by Passing MRTA February 4, 2021 CONTACT Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders (RKarerat@bronxdefenders.org) (NEW YORK, NY) – Advocates from across New York State are holding a virtual Lobby Day today to call on the legislature and Gov….
Demand Letter Re: Vaccination of People Held in Prisons and Jails
Via e-mail January 27, 2021 The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of the State of New York New York State Capitol Building Albany, New York 12224 Re: Vaccination of People Held in Prisons and Jails Dear Governor Cuomo: As science and experience have both made clear, jails and prisons perpetuate the COVID-19 pandemic, both…