“A group of attorneys is demanding the release of federal immigration detainees held in New York and New Jersey, citing a memorandum issued by President Joe Biden’s administration that changed who should be considered a priority for detention and deportation. The letter from Brooklyn Defender Services, the Legal Aid Society and the Bronx Defenders was…
Public Defenders, Advocates Sue New York, Claim Vaccine Denial Violates Constitutional Rights of Incarcerated People February 4, 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…
Verified Petition OSC Attorney Affirmation Alberto Frias Affidavit Affirmation of Drs. Adewunmi and Fenig Affirmation of Dr Gonsalves Randy Johns Affidavit Charles Holden Affidavit
“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…
“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
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** Marijuana Legalization Advocates Hold Lobby Day to Urge Lawmakers to Center Racial & Economic Justice by Passing MRTA February 4, 2021 CONTACT Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders (RKarerat@bronxdefenders.org) (NEW YORK, NY) – Advocates from across New York State are holding a virtual Lobby Day today to call on the legislature and Gov….
February 3, 2021 Via Email only – thomas.decker@ice.dhs.gov Thomas Decker Director, Enforcement and Removal Operations U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 201 Varick Street New York, NY 10014 Re: Release of people from ICE custody pursuant to January 20 memorandum Dear Director Decker, We write on behalf of the three NYIFUP programs at Brooklyn Defender Services,…
“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…
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 —…
January 29, 2021 Via Email only – thomas.r.decker@dhs.ice.gov Thomas Decker Director, Enforcement and Removal Operations U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 201 Varick Street New York, NY 10014 Dear Director Decker, We have received several alarming reports over the last 36 hours from clients at Bergen County Jail that there is no heat in various…
January 29, 2020 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*** NYIFUP Condemns ICE for Heat Outage at Bergen County Jail on Coldest Day in Tri-State in Two Years (New York, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender…
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…
“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…
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…
“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…
“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…
“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…
“Under Cuomo’s plan, while people 21 or older would be able to purchase marijuana, sales to people under the age of 21 would be classified as a felony. It is currently a misdemeanor to sell a small amount of marijuana to a person between 18 and 21 years old. Eli Northrup, a public defender and policy…
“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
***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…
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…
“The pandemic has also revealed problems in the family law system, especially child protective services, said Erin Miles Cloud, a former family defense attorney with the Bronx Defenders who is now co-president of Movement for Family Power, an activist group seeking to shrink the child welfare system.” Read the full article here
“The proposal also doesn’t authorize delivery or point-of-sale marijuana consumption but will leave it to regulators to develop new categories of licenses later on. More bad news about Cuomo’s plan came from public defender Eli Northrup of The Bronx Defenders. He noticed that Cuomo’s plan actually increases the criminal penalty for anybody caught selling marijuana to somebody…
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“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…