Settlement Secures Right to Consideration of Release for People Arrested by ICE in New York
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 14, 2022 MEDIA CONTACTS: Ben Schaefer, bschaefer@nyclu.org, 212-607-3372 Chi Nguyen, cnguyen@bronxdefenders.org, 347-842-2943 Settlement Secures Right to Consideration of Release for People Arrested by ICE in New York ICE agrees to provide individualized custody determinations, abandoning a no-release policy implemented during Trump Administration NEW YORK CITY – The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU)…
Human Rights Watch: An Innovative Approach to Justice for New York Police Violence
“The Bronx Defenders, a public legal defense organization representing 24 people alleging the New York Police Department (NYPD) committed abuses against them during protests last summer, are taking a different approach to achieving justice. Instead of suing the NYPD, as many other organizations and the New York State Attorney General have done, the Bronx Defenders asked the New York City Comptroller on Tuesday…
Gothamist: Protesters Caught In NYPD’s Violent Mott Haven Crackdown Push For Community Reparations Fund
“Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, an attorney with the Bronx Defenders, which represents the 24-member collective and spearheaded the demand letter, said the reparations fund was conceived as “an answer to police violence that might actually get us to a place of healing, rather than turning to the police departments and asking them to fix their training…
PIX 11: Bronx defenders call for reparations over ‘kettling’ arrests
“MOTT HAVEN, the Bronx — Lawyers representing protesters who were injured during a controversial police encounter between a group of Black Lives Matter demonstrators and the NYPD are calling for reparations. Human rights groups have called the confrontation a ‘planned assault.’” Read the full article here
24 Protestors Assaulted by NYPD in The Bronx Ask City to Create Reparations Fund for Victims of Police Violence
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** 24 Protestors Assaulted by NYPD in The Bronx Ask City to Create Reparations Fund for Victims of Police Violence Demand Letter Sent By The Bronx Defenders to Mayor and Comptroller on Behalf of 24 Individuals Attacked Attacked by Police in the South Bronx Last Spring January 26, 2021 CONTACT Ryan Karerat, The…
Demand for Reparations on Behalf of the Mott Haven Collective
January 26, 2021 Mayor Bill de Blasio City Hall New York, NY 10007 Comptroller Scott M. Stringer Office of the Comptroller of New York City One Centre Street New York, NY 10007 Re: Demand for Reparations on behalf of the Mott Haven Collective Dear Mayor de Blasio and Comptroller Stringer: We represent two dozen people…
Human Rights Watch: NY Attorney General Sues Police for Violence Against Protesters
“In September, Human Rights Watch published a 99-page report focused on one of the dozens of incidents covered in the lawsuit: the NYPD’s June 4 planned assault on protesters in Mott Haven, a low-income, majority Black and brown neighborhood in the South Bronx that has long experienced police brutality and systemic racism. A video produced by Human Rights Watch…
New York Law Journal: NYCLU, Bronx Defenders Allege ICE Violated Injunction in Continuing ‘No-Release’ Policy
“Attorneys from the New York Civil Liberties Union and Bronx Defenders have alleged that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are violating a federal court order by continuing a “no-release” policy of detaining undocumented immigrants arrested over the last three years.” Read the full article here
ICE Defied Court Orders, Maintained Secret No-Release Policy: NYCLU, Bronx Defenders
NEW YORK – In papers filed Friday evening, the New York Civil Liberties Union and The Bronx Defenders requested court enforcement in Velesaca v. Wolf, their case challenging the ICE New York Field Office’s use of a secret policy to jail virtually all of the thousands of people they have arrested over the last three…
The Herald News: Judge: Detained immigrants must see a judge within 10 days
“A few weeks or months of sitting in inhumane ICE detention facilities can be dangerous and devastating for individuals and their families,” said Niji Jain, an attorney at The Bronx Defenders. “The Court’s ruling recognizes that prompt access to an immigration judge is a fundamental right — one that is all the more important when…
The NY CaribNews: US judge rules detained immigrants must see a judge within 10 days
“Niji Jain, an attorney at The Bronx Defenders said, “A few weeks or months of sitting in inhumane ICE detention facilities can be dangerous and devastating for individuals and their families. The Court’s ruling recognizes that prompt access to an immigration judge is a fundamental right — one that is all the more important when detention…
DTNPF: Judge: Detained Immigrants Must See a Judge Within 10 Days
“A few weeks or months of sitting in inhumane ICE detention facilities can be dangerous and devastating for individuals and their families,” said Niji Jain, an attorney at The Bronx Defenders. “The Court’s ruling recognizes that prompt access to an immigration judge is a fundamental right — one that is all the more important when…
Federal Court Rules That Detained Immigrants Must Receive Timely Access to Judges
FEDERAL COURT RULES THAT DETAINED IMMIGRANTS MUST RECEIVE TIMELY ACCESS TO JUDGES Ruling Creates 10-Day Requirement, is First in the Nation to Establish Presentment Standards In Immigration Court FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 30, 2020 MEDIA CONTACT: Peter Markowitz, Cardozo Immigration Justice Clinic, peter.markowitz@yu.edu, 718-877-8817 Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, media@bronxdefenders.org, 917-635-4326 Ben Schaefer, NYCLU, media@nyclu.org,…
KOB: Judge: Detained immigrants must see a judge within 10 days
“A few weeks or months of sitting in inhumane ICE detention facilities can be dangerous and devastating for individuals and their families,” said Niji Jain, an attorney at The Bronx Defenders. “The Court’s ruling recognizes that prompt access to an immigration judge is a fundamental right – one that is all the more important when…
New York Daily News: NYPD quietly shuts down controversial trespass program
“Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, who heads a civil rights unit at Bronx Defenders, said she won’t celebrate “unless and until Bronx residents living in private buildings are free from police harassment.” “The NYPD has a history of dismantling a program only to redeploy the same practice in new packaging,” she said. “It will be important to…
The City: NYPD Response to June Bronx Protest Violated Human Rights Law, Watchdog Charges
“We represent dozens of protesters from that night on claims against the NYPD,” said Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, managing director of impact litigation at the Bronx Defenders. “Our clients were all trapped before the curfew,” Borchetta said. “They were trapped to such a degree that people reported that they couldn’t breathe. Then police descended on a…
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…
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…
Silive: Public defenders denied in bid to halt in-person court appearances — for now
“By converting our request for temporary relief into a swift hearing on a more-permanent injunction, the order recognizes that the Criminal Court created an urgent problem when it suddenly decided to haul people in for needless appearances at great risk to the health and well-being of the public,” said Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, managing director of…
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 Law Journal: New York City Defenders Sue Court Administrators Alleging Reopening Is Causing Bias Against Disabled
“Public defender organizations launched a lawsuit Tuesday against The New York state court system, saying a criminal court plan to start in-person appearances discriminates against people with disabilities.” Read the full article here
Law360: Legal Aid Sues To Stop Criminal Courts Reopening In NYC
“The suit comes on the eve of a scheduled July 15 reopening of criminal courts in the city. OCA announced its plans in an administrative order last week, according to the complaint, which was filed in New York federal court. Legal Aid and the other groups — which include Brooklyn Defender Services, the Bronx Defenders, New…
April 28, 2020 Habeas Filings in Coronel et al v. Decker et al.
Case 2:20-cv-05061-JMV Case 2:20-cv-05053