Edison Arreaga
Edison was born in Ecuador and raised in the Bronx. Prior to joining The Bronx Defenders, he worked in hospitality & customer service.
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Alec Miran
Alec Miran (he/him/his) graduated cum laude from New York University School of Law. While in law school, Alec participated in the Federal Defender Clinic and Juvenile Defender Clinic. He was also the Deputy Director of the Suspension Representation Project and a licensed bail bond agent with NYU’s charitable bail fund. During his Summers, Alec interned…
Kate Ferguson
Kate Ferguson (she/her/hers) received her J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was a James Kent and Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. While in law school, Kate externed at the Bronx Defenders in the Family Defense practice and served on the boards of the Human Rights Law Review and the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Team. Before…
The Bronx Defenders and Unionized Staff Finalize New Collective Bargaining Agreement, Strengthening Zealous Representation in the Bronx
Contact: media@bronxdefenders.org The Bronx, NY – After three months of bargaining, The Bronx Defenders and the union representing a majority of staff at the organization – the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys-UAW Local 2325 – have finalized a collective bargaining agreement that increases wages for all BxD employees, creates a fair and flexible hybrid work…
The BLOC and The Bronx Defenders Denounce the Rent Guidelines Board Decision to Increase Rents
Contact: media@bronxdefenders.org The Bronx, NY — The Bronx Leadership & Organizing Center (BLOC) and The Bronx Defenders share Bronx tenants’ outrage over the recent decision of the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) to raise rents by 2.75% on 1-year leases and 5.25% on 2-year leases for rent stabilized apartments. In the Bronx, our communities are…
The Bronx Defenders Welcomes Juval O. Scott as its Next Executive Director
The Bronx, NY – The Bronx Defenders has announced the appointment of Juval O. Scott, a nationally-recognized leader in public defense, civil rights, and sentencing reform, as the next Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders. Juval will be the first African American and woman of color to lead the organization in its 27-year history. She…
New York Immigrant Family Unity Project Statement on ICE Severely Restricting Phone Access in Detention Facilities, Prompting Hunger Strikes
(New York, NY) – The Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services, and The Legal Aid Society – New York City’s defender organizations providing free legal representation to detained immigrants through the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) – issued the following statement in response to the sudden termination of the free call minutes program at…
Education Defense Project
Our Education Defense Project (EDP) is a specialized team of attorneys and advocates that collaborate with our Immigration, Family, Civil and Criminal Defense practices when education issues affect the people we represent. For example, we provide advocacy for students with disabilities and their families navigating the special education process, including but not limited to advocacy…
NYC Family Defenders Welcome NY Advisory Committee Report; Urge NYS to Implement Its Recommendations
Defenders Reaffirm Call for Legislature to Enact Four Bills that Empower Families Before the End of Session New York, NY – On Tuesday May 28, the New York Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released a report “Examining the New York Child Welfare System and its Impact on Black Children and Families.”…
Human Rights and Immigrants’ Rights Organizations Sue ICE And GEO Group For Physically Assaulting and Abusing Immigrant While Detained
Washington, D.C. – Last week, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the National Immigration Project (NIPNLG), and The Bronx Defenders sued Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the GEO Group, a private prison company, under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Angel Argueta Anariba, a 46-year-old Honduran immigrant who has lived…
NYC Public Defenders File Class Action Lawsuit Against the Department of Correction Over Unlawful Mass Surveillance System
Media Contacts: Michael Paul Jackson, mjackson@bronxdefenders.org New York, NY – On behalf of incarcerated New Yorkers, as well as the community members they speak with on the telephone, The Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services, New York County Defender Services, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP filed a class action lawsuit Monday evening against the…
New York City Public Defenders’ Joint Statement on Lawsuits Filed Against the Department of Correction Alleging Sexual Abuse on Rikers Island
(New York) – The Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Legal Aid Society, the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, New York County Defender Services, and Queens Defenders released the following joint statement in response to reporting in Gothamist concerning 719 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse in New York City jails under the Adult Survivors Act: “The harms detailed in these…
The Bronx Defenders Hosts Fifth Annual Community Day of Action in Albany to Redefine Public Safety
The Bronx Defenders Joined Community Activists and Elected Officials to Rally for the Passage of Treatment Not Jail, Informed Consent, New York for All, and others Contact: Michael Paul Jackson, mjackson@bronxdefenders.org The Bronx, NY – The Bronx Defenders traveled to Albany today with community leaders, supporters, and advocates to demand legislation that will redefine public…
NYPD Agrees to Pay $125,000 to Bronx Woman Who Sued to Stop Police Violence and Retaliation Against Black and Brown New Yorkers
Media Contacts: Michael Paul Jackson, mjackson@bronxdefenders.org The Bronx, NY – Today, The Bronx Defenders and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, LLP announced that the City of New York has agreed to pay Cheyenne Lee $125,000 after nine NYPD officers barged into her home without a warrant, arrested her teenage nephew, and then arrested her without…
BxD Celebrates New York City Council Vote to Ensure Greater Police Transparency and Accountability
Contact: Michael Paul Jackson, The Bronx Defenders, mjackson@bronxdefenders.org New York, NY – Today, the New York City Council voted to override Mayor Adams’ veto of the How Many Stops Act. In response, Christine Rivera, Policy Counsel for The Bronx Defenders’ Criminal Defense Practice, issued the following statement: “We are pleased that the City Council stood up…
NYC Public Defenders Release 2024 Statewide Criminal Legal System Legislative Priorities
Measures Include Increased Funding for Public Defender Offices, Passage of the Treatment Not Jail Act, the Youth Justice & Opportunities Act and the Eliminating Mandatory Minimums Act, Along With Additional Key Reforms (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, New York County Defender Services, Neighborhood Defender Service of…
New York City Public Defenders Urge Federal Lawmakers to Reject the Most Catastrophic Immigration Reform Effort in a Generation
Contacts: Anthony Chiarito, The Bronx Defenders, achiarito@bronxdefenders.org Dan Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services, dball@bds.org Alejandra Lopez, The Legal Aid Society, ailopez@legal-aid.org New York, NY – On Thursday, the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) – the nation’s first public defender program for detained immigrants – issued the following statement in response to reports that the…
IMPACTED PEOPLE, LABOR UNIONS, BUSINESSES, AND CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS CELEBRATE THE GOVERNOR’S SIGNING OF THE CLEAN SLATE ACT
Katie Schaffer, kschaffer@communityalternatives.org, 646-265-2044 Tanya Frable, tfrable@communityalternatives.org, 347-677-2463 NEW YORK – Today, Governor Hochul signed the Clean Slate Act, legislation that will help millions of people support their families, boost New York’s economy and help create safer and stronger communities. Her signature on this historic legislation was lauded by hundreds of labor unions, businesses, and…
The Bronx Defenders Response to its union’s October 20 Statement
Contact: media@bronxdefenders.org “The Bronx Defenders (‘BxD’) is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization whose central mission is to provide client-centered, holistic representation to low-income people in the Bronx. BxD helps approximately 20,000 Bronx residents a year navigate criminal, family, civil, and immigration legal proceedings. “The organization has decided to issue this statement in light of the…
Written Testimony re: to examine issues in the New York State market related to consumer accessibility and retail sale of legal adult-use cannabis
New York State Senate Senate Subcommittee on Cannabis; Standing Committees on Agriculture, Finance, and Investigations and Government Operations To examine issues in the New York State market related to consumer accessibility and retail sale of legal adult-use cannabis October 30, 2023 Written Testimony of The Bronx Defenders By Eli Northrup, Policy Director, Criminal Defense Practice…
Ariana Brill (Staff Attorney, Family Defense Practice)
Ariana Brill (she/her/hers) earned her B.A. from New York University and her J.D. from Penn Law, where she was a Levy Scholar and graduated magna cum laude. During law school, she completed internships at the Federal Community Defender for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Defense Practice, Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project,…
Keiana James (Staff Attorney, Immigration Practice)
Keiana (she/her/hers) was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY by a blended family of New Yorkers and Jamaican immigrants. She graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science, French, and International Relations from Amherst College, finishing her studies by writing a French thesis entitled “Living in the Imaginary: An Exploration of Liminality Within Cahier…
Austin Thierry (Staff Attorney, Immigration Practice)
Austin (he/him/his) is from Oxnard, CA, and has a B.A. in Political Economy from UC Berkeley. Prior to attending law school, Austin worked for four years as a paralegal at a law firm in San Francisco, CA where he assisted immigrants pursuing various forms of relief from deportation. At NYU Law, Austin was a student…
Emma Connolly (Staff Attorney, Family Defense Practice)
Emma Connolly (she/her/hers) comes to Bronx Defenders from Project Guardianship, where she worked on behalf of incapacitated New Yorkers. She previously worked as a staff attorney in the Family Defense Practice of Bronx Defenders. She is a graduate of UC-Berkeley School of Law.
Dakota Stennett-Neris (Benefits Advocate)
Dakota (she/her/hers) is a recent college graduate from Cornell University where she double majored in biology & society and government as well as double minored in inequality studies and law & society. She hopes to become a human rights lawyer and pursue her interest between the intersection of social justice, law, politics, and science.