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…
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…
Law360: NY Courts Urge Federal Judge To Stay Out Of Reopening Plan
“The Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services, Legal Aid Society, New York County Defender Services, Neighborhood Service of Harlem, and Queens Defenders say the state 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…
The Chief Leader: Public Defenders, Court-Officers Union Seek Delay in Courts’ Reopenings
“In this way, the Plan discriminates against people with disabilities who need sufficient notice to seek and receive accommodations or modifications prior to an appearance in order to obtain equal access to the court,” according to the lawsuit. In its filing, The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, New York County Defender…
New York Law Journal: Federal Judge Denies Defenders’ Bid for Temporary Order to Pause New York City’s In-Person Court Proceedings
“U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter Jr. of the Southern District of New York on Friday denied the temporary restraining order requested by a group of New York City public defender organizations who say the planned expansion of in-person state court proceedings discriminates against persons with disabilities.” Read the full article here
ABA Journal: New York City public defenders file suit to halt in-person court appearances
“The suit was filed by the Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, the Bronx Defenders, New York County Defender Services, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem and Queens Defenders. The defendant is the New York State Office of Court Administration. Office of Court Administration spokesperson Lucian Chalfen told the Queens Daily Eagle that public defender groups…
New York Daily News: Lawyers for indigent challenge ‘rushed and unnecessary’ reopening of NYC criminal courts for in-person hearings
Read the full article here
Queens Daily Eagle: Public defenders sue state to stop in-person criminal proceedings during COVID crisis
“Until Monday, arraignments, case conferences and other criminal court proceedings were handled remotely, with defendants appearing by video conference since March. The plaintiffs include The Legal Aid Society, Queens Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem and New York county Defender Service. The organizations, which represent low-income defendants in criminal…
The New York Times: N.Y.P.D. Says It Used Restraint During Protests. Here’s What the Videos Show.
“A civil rights lawyer with the legal aid group the Bronx Defenders, Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, said she saw violations of constitutional rights in nearly all the videos, including the rights to free speech and due process. “The primary question is whether the force is reasonable, but you have to remember, if they’re not arresting someone,…
Queens Daily Eagle: NYC public defenders threaten to sue state to stop in-person criminal proceedings
“The timing of this order will prevent people with disabilities — our offices’ clients and their attorneys — from requesting and receiving the reasonable accommodations they need to safely attend and participate in court proceedings and do so without fear of incarceration if they assert those needs and rights,” they write. Public defenders with disabilities…
The Riverdale Press: Amid protests, budget cuts, crime rises in 5-0
“But that’s an unfair claim, said Eli Northrup, criminal defense policy counsel at the Bronx Defenders, a public defender nonprofit. “If anything, bail reform in the last month has been rolled back,” Northrup said. “I don’t think there’s any evidence that bail reform has anything to do with this. If you look, crime is actually…
ABC News: Blacks account for nearly half of all NYC arrests 6 years after end of stop-and-frisk: NYPD data
“There are other just as nefarious, just as racially-biased practices that have filled the void. Unless you’re really going to start at the roots of the problem, you’re going to end up in the same place,” said Ann Mathews, managing director of the criminal defense practice for The Bronx Defenders, a city public defenders office….
ConnectRadio.FM: Blacks comprise nearly half of all NYC arrests despite reforms: NYPD data
“While the good news is that if arrests are down by roughly half in New York, then that means that only half as many African Americans are being arrested as well as for other racial groups, too.”But Ann Mathews of The Bronx Defenders said that while she welcomes police reform efforts, “what is clear is…
Gothamist: Man Who Tried To Escape Rikers Twice In Four Days ‘Has No Other Choice,’ Fellow Inmate Says
“Rikers Island inmates have also not been allowed in-person visits with their lawyers since late March because of the pandemic, Ann H. Mathews, the Bronx Defenders’ Managing Director of Criminal Defense Practice, told Gothamist. While they have been allowed video conferences via a digital Skype-like interface, those sometimes take weeks to schedule. Besides, she emphasized,…
Vice: Black and Brown Protesters in New York Were Jailed Longer and Punished More Harshly Than White, Data Indicates
“Few and far between did you see white people being arraigned,” said Janie Williams, a criminal defense attorney with Bronx Defenders who offered aid to people as they left police custody in Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. “White people didn’t have to see the judges that much. It was Black and brown people who were…
Warwick Valley Dispatch: Comm. Members Discuss Anti-Racism Focus In Warwick Schools
“A virtual “town hall” meeting for Warwick parents and educators took place on Sun., June 7, via zoom conference, with over 30 attendees. Its purpose was to come together as an educational community to discuss implementing a culturally responsible and actively anti-racist culture in Warwick schools. Meant as a gateway to greater community engagement, the…
Law360: Virus Concerns Loom Over Handling Of Mass Arrests
“Police should not be arresting individuals who are peacefully exercising their First Amendment right to protest, said Ann Mathews, managing director of the criminal defense practice at Bronx Defenders. And if cops do cuff peaceful protesters, district attorneys should decline to prosecute them, Mathews said.” Read the full article here
The Appeal: The NYPD ‘Cancelled’ Police Court Appearances, Leaving People To Sit In Jail
“Over the next four weeks, the city’s criminal courts began addressing the backlog. But then the NYPD issued its directives canceling court appearances. “You have individuals who have been in a kind of indefinite pre-inquiry-of-any-kind detention” because of the COVID-19 court shutdowns, said Ann Mathews, managing director of the criminal defense practice at the Bronx…
News12 Brooklyn: Unrest in America: A News 12 Special Report
Lenora Easter, BxD’s Early Defense Team Leader, spoke with News12 Brooklyn about Bronx Defenders’ legal emergency hotline and everything that public defenders have been dealing with midst the George Floyd protests. Watch starting at 5:44 here
PIX11: Group claims Cuomo urged DAs to overcharge black protesters to detain them
“Several legal defense groups called it an effort to circumvent the law and unlawfully detain protesters. “Already, there is a backlog of hundreds of New Yorkers who are being illegally held because the NYPD refuses to issue Desk Appearance Tickets in lieu of arrests or complete the paperwork necessary to arraign them, despite the fact…
The Marshall Project: Police Arrested Fewer People During Coronavirus Shutdowns—Even Fewer Were White
“Dawit Getachew, a public defender at the Bronx Defenders in New York, says he’s seen the racial disparity in arrests before and after the pandemic, because he represents clients from a South Bronx neighborhood that is primarily home to black and Hispanic residents. While Getachew said he is not surprised to learn about the widening…
CityLimits: City’s Courts Seen Lacking in Interpreters
“The situation is complicated when these organizations cannot pay for private simultaneous translation services and the lawyers are not bilingual. If a defendant is in custody, “you can’t talk to the person if you don’t know the language,” explains Alice Fontier, director of criminal practice at The Bronx Defenders. So for those who can’t make…
Defenders, LGBTQ+ Advocates, Elected Officials And Others Request The Immediate Release Of TGNCNBI New Yorkers and Other Vulnerable Populations From Jail And Prison Custody
May 1, 2020 Contact: 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 YORK, NY) – Public defender organizations, LGBTQ+ advocates, elected officials, and others, in a recent letter to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, the New York State Department of Corrections…
Legislative Gazette: Budget includes compromise on bail reform and judicial discretion
“Now, discovery laws have been extended to 20 calendar days and allowed some information to be non-discoverable. “The [amendments to] discovery provisions will also deny people facing criminal charges access to crucial and potentially exculpatory witness information. These are not small tweaks; they have bludgeoned reform just as it was taking root,” said the Bronx…
NY1: Protesters Demand Release of Queensboro Correctional Facility Prisoners
“Advocates held a rally outside Queensboro Correctional Facility demanding the release all state prisoners who are within one year of their release date. The protest, which included former inmates, prison health experts and advocacy organizations, is part of a larger call to release prisoners in order to save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Read the…