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…
The New York Times: Covid-19: Third U.S. Vaccine Moves Closer as Johnson & Johnson Seeks F.D.A. Green Light
“The five advocacy groups that filed the suit against Governor Cuomo and Dr. Howard Zucker, the state health commissioner, include the Legal Aid Society, the Bronx Defenders and the New York Civil Liberties Union. The groups argue that the exclusion of incarcerated people from vaccination plans hinders the goal of ensuring equitable access to vaccines…
New York Daily News: N.Y. pols propose ‘clean slate’ legislation to seal and expunge criminal records
“A conviction would be automatically and fully expunged five years after sentencing of a misdemeanor conviction and seven years after felony conviction, as long as a person is no longer on probation or parole, has no pending criminal charges in the state and is not a sex offender. The measure has the backing of the…
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…
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…
Bronx Justice News: Lawyers File Bronx Petition Demanding NYC Prisoners Be Offered Vaccine
“Justine Olderman, Executive Director of the Bronx Defenders, said the state has routinely disregarded the health and safety of incarcerated people during the pandemic. “Withholding the vaccine from people being detained in congregate settings goes against CDC guidelines. It also goes against the moral responsibility the state has towards the people it incarcerates,” Olderman said….
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…
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…
City & State: Why Cuomo’s pandemic policies keep getting challenged in court
“This is just the latest lawsuit against Cuomo that has prompted an abrupt shift in his administration’s pandemic policies. While the lawsuit – which was filed on behalf of inmates by groups including the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, Bronx Defenders and the Legal Aid Society – is the first class action over vaccinations in…
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…
COVID-19 Vaccine Lawsuit
Verified Petition OSC Attorney Affirmation Alberto Frias Affidavit Affirmation of Drs. Adewunmi and Fenig Affirmation of Dr Gonsalves Randy Johns Affidavit Charles Holden Affidavit
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…
New York Law Journal: Public Defenders File Lawsuit to Green-Light Inmates for Vaccination
“Public defenders are suing in state court to force New York officials to expand coronavirus vaccine eligibility to inmates, saying the state’s approach is arbitrary and contradicts federal guidance.” Read the full article here
The City: After ‘Horrifying’ Rochester Arrest, City Advocates Call on Cuomo to Keep Kids Out of Cop Hands
“Following the release of body-camera footage that showed Rochester police pepper-spraying a handcuffed 9-year-old girl, New York City advocates are renewing a push to raise the minimum age of criminal prosecution statewide. In a letter sent to Governor Andrew Cuomo and Albany leaders on Wednesday, public defender groups from all five boroughs pushed for passage of legislation that would hike the…
The New York State Senate: Senate To Repeal ‘Walking While Trans’ Law
Deb Lolai, Supervising Attorney in the LGBTQ Defense Project at The Bronx Defenders, said, “We applaud the Senate’s passage of S1351, which will repeal New York’s ‘Walking While Trans’ law. This bill is a critical step toward eliminating enmeshed penalties — such as reduced access to employment, fewer housing options, and punitive immigration consequences —…
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…
Politico: Public defenders threaten to sue Cuomo to allow vaccinations for prisoners
“Public defender groups are threatening to sue Gov. Andrew Cuomo if he does not allow prisoners to get the Covid-19 vaccine. The state has given the green light for correction officers to get the vaccine, but people locked up in state prisons and local jails are not eligible — even as the virus rages inside prisons.” Read the full…
Defenders to Gov. Cuomo: Stop Blocking COVID-19 Vaccinations for Our Incarcerated Clients
January 29, 2021 Contact: Redmond Haskins The Legal Aid Society (929) 441-2384 rhaskins@legal-aid.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** Defenders to Gov. Cuomo: Stop Blocking COVID-19 Vaccinations for Our Incarcerated Clients (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, New York County Defender Services, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, The Bronx Defenders, Legal Aid Society…
Filter Magazine: New York’s Two Marijuana Legalization Paths: Will Lawmakers Get It Right?
“The two bills also differ on several matters of criminal law. While the MRTA has a provision that the odor of marijuana can’t be used as a basis to stop or search somebody, no similar provision exists in the Governor’s proposal. Eli Northrup, a public defender, said that this difference is significant: “Stop and frisk…