“Public defenders praised the legislation. “Marijuana justice means working to undo the immense damage done by the war on drugs and ensuring that the communities most impacted by prohibition — including many here in the Bronx — have a chance to benefit from legalization as well,” Eli Northrup of the Bronx Defenders said in a…
“NEW YORK, NY – Recent information reveals more than 1,500 phone calls made from those incarcerated here were wrongly recorded, leading New York City public defenders to urge an end to all recordings of phone calls made by those in city jails, and for the city to not renew its contract with Securus, a prison…
NEW YORK – The City Council voted today to approve and endorse Mayor de Blasio’s proposed police ‘reform and reinvention’ plan for New York City as mandated by Governor Cuomo’s executive order 203. Justine Olderman, Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders, issued the following response: “The Mayor’s police ‘reform’ plan and process has been flawed…
“Eli Northup is an attorney with the Bronx Defenders. He hopes the deal will also include a provision to automatically wipe out past marijuana convictions from criminal records. “Marijuana convictions can affect people in all these different ways outside of the criminal context, in the child welfare system, when you’re applying for housing, education, there’s…
“Powers said he and his colleagues requested a DOC audit after being contacted by concerned attorneys from the Bronx Defenders, a nonprofit that represents clients in the justice system. The audit found hundreds of phone numbers that were supposed to be on the “do not record” list were actually recorded.” Read the full article here
“[We are calling] for an immediate end to all recording of phone calls made by people incarcerated in New York City jails,” the Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, The Legal Aid Society, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, New York County Defender Services, and Queens Defenders said in a joint statement.” Read the full article…
“Powers said he and his colleagues requested a DOC audit after being contacted by concerned attorneys from the Bronx Defenders, a nonprofit that represents clients in the justice system. The audit found hundreds of phone numbers that were supposed to be on the “do not record” list were actually recorded.” Read the full article here
“[We] demand a full account as to how this was allowed to occur so that we can fully understand and assess the breadth and depth of this breach, how many of our clients cases were implicated, how this information was used, and whether these violations were of such a prejudicial nature that dismissal of the…
“[We are calling] for an immediate end to all recording of phone calls made by people incarcerated in New York City jails,” the Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, The Legal Aid Society, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, New York County Defender Services, and Queens Defenders said in a joint statement. Read the full article…
“Criminal defendants have a constitutional right to lawyers and legal counsel — and New York law says their communications with lawyers and others helping their cases is strictly confidential. The Correction Department first heard about the system screw up in December when several Bronx defenders flagged the issue, sources said. The department requested an audit…
“For more than two decades, the Bronx Defenders has provided a holistic form of legal aid to indigent residents in New York. In addition to pro-bono criminal defense, lawyers help clients with the gamut of social and legal challenges that often surface in the wake of an arrest. The work is expensive, and like many…
“For more than two decades, the Bronx Defenders has provided a holistic form of legal aid to indigent residents in New York. In addition to pro-bono criminal defense, lawyers help clients with the gamut of social and legal challenges that often surface in the wake of an arrest. The work is expensive, and like many…
Julia Solomons, Policy Advocate and Social Worker at The Bronx Defenders, said, “Today we celebrate the passage of this critical legislation. While there is much work left to do to achieve justice for Black and brown communities impacted by mass incarceration, HALT’s passage sends an important message that we value all New Yorkers, regardless of race,…
March 11, 2021 Contact: Ryan Karerat, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** BRONX DEFENDERS STATEMENT ON THE U.S. CITIZENSHIP ACT OF 2021 AND AMERICAN DREAM AND PROMISE ACT OF 2021 (Bronx, NY) – Last month, the White House and Congress unveiled the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 and the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021 in…
March 11, 2021 Contacts: Alejandra Lopez, The Legal Aid Society, AILopez@legal-aid.org, 917-294-9348 Daniel Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services, dball@bds.org Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project Demands Answers on Vaccination Plan for Detained Immigrants (New York, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, and The…
“This coalition includes over 25 well-respected organizations such as AARP, Legal Aid Society, Bronx Defenders, Center for Independence of the Disabled in New York, DC37, Coalition for the Homeless and many more.” Read the full article here
“Justine Olderman, executive director of The Bronx Defenders, said that calls for adequate care and warnings were met with “indifference” that led to the deaths of people in custody. “COVID is still as dangerous today as it was a year ago. Rikers is still overcrowded, people still can’t socially distance from one another. They still…
“The current law really isn’t accessible to most people,” said Scott Levy, an attorney with The Bronx Defenders, which supports the new bill. “Our clients who have criminal histories are trying to get back on their feet, trying to support their families, and just run into roadblock after roadblock. The Clean Slate is designed to eliminate those…
NEW YORK – Mayor de Blasio today released a proposed police ‘reform and reinvention’ plan for New York City as mandated by Governor Cuomo’s executive order 203. Justine Olderman, Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders, issued the following response: “While the Mayor claims that this plan was developed with community input, that is not the…
“Of course, this practice isn’t just limited to New York. For example, during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement last year, police in Richmond, VA conducted targeted seizures of smartphones from activists. But what makes New York’s system so interesting is that, following a class action lawsuit from the Bronx Defenders settled in 2018, we now…
“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
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 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…
“We were certainly disappointed to see the government’s continuing to resist the most basic due-process protections for people arrested by ICE,” said Peter Markowitz, a professor at Cardozo Law School, which filed the case with the Bronx Defenders and New York Civil Liberties Union.” Read the full article here
“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…