NYC Defenders Call On Albany To Enact Revised Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act
May 28, 2019 ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYC DEFENDERS CALL ON ALBANY TO ENACT REVISED MARIJUANA REGULATION AND TAXATION ACT (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, New York County Defender Services, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, and Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem called on New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and Legislature leaders to enact…
Investigative Post: The cost of suspending driver’s licenses
“The court system in these cases is really trying to extract money from these clients. It doesn’t serve any public safety function,” says Scott Levy, our Special Counsel. Read the full article here
New York Law Journal: Albany Must Reject Any “Dangerousness”-Based Preventative Detention Scheme
The Bronx Defenders, Legal Aid Society, and Brooklyn Defender Services came together in this op-ed to speak against extending preventative detention to accused New Yorkers based on perceptions of “dangerousness,” which could mean an increase in the number of people in pretrial detention as well as sanction further racial discrimination and bias. “We will not…
The Appeal: Bronx DA Says She Wants To Reduce Overdose Deaths, But Opposes A Program That Can Help
“The failed war on drugs has shown us that we cannot arrest and punish our way out of the opioid crisis. Safe injection sites are a common sense and practical way to meet people where they are, connect them to the services they need, and hopefully prevent deaths.” Avery McNeil, our Alternatives to Incarceration specialist,…
The Appeal: What Happens Before Police Press “Record”?
“Even if the police are giving Miranda warnings right after they hit play, it doesn’t mean they haven’t already talked to our clients about the content of the interrogation before that. And that obviously raises questions about whether pre-interrogation conversations with the police undermine the force of the Miranda rights in the first place.” Emily…
New York Daily News: Advocates for criminal justice reform accuse prosecutors, state task force of falling short on bail changes
“The advocates, including The Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services, the Legal Aid Society, the New York Civil Liberties Union and Citizen Action of New York, said in a statement on Monday that they are looking for ‘meaningful bail reform that protects the presumption of innocence and maximizes pretrial liberty.” Read more here
Bronx Justice News: District Attorney Darcel Clark On Criminal Justice Reform Legislation: “The Question Is Not If But How We Implement”
“DA Clark has rightly acknowledged the inevitability of discovery, bail, and speedy trial reform in New York. But acknowledgement of inevitability is not enough. The time for delay and foot-dragging is over,” The Bronx Defenders said in a statement. “Bronx-residents–particularly those from communities of color–have waited long enough for a criminal legal system that respects…
Eli Northrup Presented Testimony at City Council on Marijuana Legalization
New York City Council Committee on Public Safety Jointly with the Committee on Justice System, the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Business Licensing Hearing re: Marijuana Legalization: Equity and Justice for NYC. February 27, 2019 Written Testimony of The Bronx Defenders By Eli Northrup, Associate Special Counsel to the Criminal Defense Practice As a holistic…
Written Testimony to the Committee on Criminal Justice: Department of Correction Programming
New York City Council Committee on Criminal Justice Hearing re: Oversight – Department of Correction Programming February 26, 2019 Written Testimony of The Bronx Defenders By Elizabeth Williams Good morning Chairman Powers and members of the Committee on Criminal Justice. My name is Elizabeth Williams and I am a social worker in the Criminal Defense…
Written Testimony to the Committee on Public Safety Jointly with the Committee on Justice System: Family Separation in Criminal Cases
New York City Council Committee on Public Safety Jointly with the Committee on Justice System Hearing re: Family Separation in Criminal Cases February 25, 2019 Written Testimony of The Bronx Defenders By Fallon Speaker, Eli Northrup, and Caitlin Becker As practitioners, we see firsthand the impact an arrest can have on families, especially when a…
New York Law Journal: Treatment of Transgender People in Custody Must Improve
“In the five years I’ve worked as a defender, I have never met a transgender client who was not abused or harassed in some way by the NYPD during the process of their arrest.” Deb Lolai, our LGBTQ specialist, wrote an op-ed highlighting transphobic practice rampant in the NYPD. While in detention, trans and gender…
Written Testimony to the Committee on Public Safety and Committee on Justice System: Police Discipline
New York City Council Committee on Public Safety and Committee on Justice System Joint Hearing re: Oversight – Police Discipline February 7, 2019 Written Testimony of The Bronx Defenders By Jenn Rolnick Borchetta & Oded Oren Chairman Richards, Chairman Lancman, and members of the Committees, my name is Jenn Rolnick Borchetta and I am Deputy…
The City: 20 Years After the NYPD Killing of Amadou Diallo, His Mother and Community Ask: What’s Changed?
“His murder was in the context of a stop. It was a horrible example of the officers thinking black people pose a threat, even for movements that are innocuous and benign.” Our Deputy Director of Impact Litigation, Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, spoke to New York Magazine’s The City for the anniversary of Amadou Diallo. Read more…
New York Law Journal: New Yorkers Should Push for Police Accountability
“There’s another way that New Yorkers can push for police accountability–and it involves their elected district attorneys. This form of accountability comes from ‘suppression’ hearings.” Oded Oren, our criminal defense attorney, wrote an op-ed on how New Yorkers can push for police accountability through holding elected district attorneys responsible for their inactions. Suppression hearings held…
New York Times: How to Make New York as Progressive on Criminal Justice as Texas
“They claim that there was a gun in the bag. When they tested the bag for fingerprints there were thirteen fingerprints on the bag, none of which matched my clients’. We ultimately won this trial but my client was this close to going to prison. Had we gotten this evidence before, we might have been…
News 12: Lawyer calls for reform ahead of potential marijuana legalization
“There needs to be automatic expungement of criminal records because the racial disparity will continue to haunt people.” Eli Northrup, our Associate Special Counsel to Criminal Defense, talks about how it’s imperative to be intentional about equity for minorities as marijuana legalization becomes likely in 2019. Simply making it legal to possess and smoke marijuana…
New York Law Journal: NYC Public Defenders, Not Assigned Counsel, to Get First Call in Homicide Cases
“There are some excellent 18-B attorneys and there are some people who aren’t as committed to handling their clients as they should be,” says Alice Fontier, Managing Director of the Criminal Defense Practice. “The Bronx sees an average of about 100 homicide cases annually. Fontier said that defense providers such as The Bronx Defenders can bring more…
WNYC: Bronx DA Won’t Ask Supreme Court to Decide on Jury Trials for Immigrants
Alice Fontier, managing director of the Criminal Defense practice, welcomed the DA’s decision to not ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Suazo case in hopes of changing the law so that all defendants accused of class B misdemeanors, not just immigrants, can get jury trials. She said citizens also face harsh punishments if…
After midterm elections, public defenders call on Albany to pass critical justice reforms
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, New York County Defender Services, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders and Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem issued a joint letter following the midterm elections to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York State Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie…
Deb Lolai Testified Before City Council on Sexual Abuse and Harassment in City Jails
New York City Council Committee on Criminal Justice, Committee on Justice System & Committee on Women Joint Oversight Hearing on Sexual Abuse and Harassment in City Jails September 6, 2018 Testimony of The Bronx Defenders By Deborah Lolai Good morning, Chair Lancman, Chair Powers, Chair Rosenthal and committee members. My name is Deborah Lolai and…
New York Times: New York City’s Young Inmates Are Held in Isolation Upstate, Despite Ban
Three years ago, New York City banned solitary confinement for youth under 22. Despite these rules, eight young people are being held in solitary confinement, having been transferred upstate to a correctional facility in Albany County. Shortly after BxD client Steven Espinal, 19, arrived in the Albany County Correctional Facility, he was kicked so badly…
Joint Statement: Court Orders NYPD to Electronically Record All Citizen Encounters
Court Orders NYPD to Electronically Record All Citizen Encounters Order Calls for Pilot Program to Study Effectiveness of Documenting All Encounters Anna Kim, The Bronx Defenders, 646-504-2977, annakim@bronxdefenders.org Jen Nessel, CCR, 212-614-6449, jnessel@ccrjustice.org David Jacobs, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, 212-965-2255, djacobs@naacpldf.org July 17, 2018, New York —Today, a federal court ordered the NYPD to begin recording all…
Politico: Judge orders NYPD to enact pilot program on low-level stops
Judge orders NYPD to enact pilot program on low-level stops By Brendan Cheney A federal judge overseeing stop-and-frisk-related cases has ordered the New York Police Department to conduct a pilot program to record lower-level encounters that don’t rise to a full police stop. The plaintiffs in the case, community advocates, and a facilitator appointed by…
NY Daily News: NYPD told to better document more street encounters — the latest chapter from stop and frisk trial that criticized treatment of minorities
A court had ordered NYPD to begin documenting low-level investigative police-citizen encounters as part of a pilot program. We cannot ensure stop and frisk ends without turning a spotlight on NYPD activity that has long been in the darkness. “Very often, officers are responding to instances where things are not so clear,” said Jenn Rolnick…
Joint Statement: Civil Rights Attorneys Push Back on NYPD Objections to Stop-and-Frisk Reforms
JOINT STATEMENT FROM NAACP, LAS AND NYCLU ON NYPD’S OBJECTIONS TO STOP-AND-FRISK REFORMS The NYPD opposed many community-based recommendations for stop-and-frisk reform, arguing that they should not be ordered to implement any of them. This reform–the Joint Remedial Process–collected input from thousands of people from communities impacted by the NYPD’s practices, involving 64 focus groups…