“After taking office in 2002, Mr. Bloomberg oversaw a dramatic expansion in the use of stop-and-frisk. The number of stops multiplied sevenfold, peaking with 685,724 in 2011 and then tumbling to 191,851 in 2013. During Mr. Bloomberg’s three terms, the police recorded 5,081,689 stops. “The temperature in the city at the time was that the…
“While recent statistics might seem to suggest that VTC has helped tackle the backlog of immigration cases, there are other factors that have likely contributed to the jump in completed cases, according to Sarah Deri Oshiro, managing director of the immigration practice at the Bronx Defenders, which was a plaintiff in the lawsuit over the…
The New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Codes and Standing Committee on Corrections Hearing on Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) and Pre-Trial Services November 14, 2019 Testimony of Kristen Anderson, Senior Criminal Defense Social Worker THE BRONX DEFENDERS I first want to thank the members of the Assembly Standing Committee on Codes and the members…
“If Larry Griffin II’s story typifies a best-case use of facial recognition for law enforcement, Kaitlin Jackson, a public defense attorney with the Bronx Defenders, tells me one that exposes its drawbacks. Jackson represented a man who’d been arrested for the theft of socks from a T.J. Maxx store in February 2018, supposedly after brandishing a…
TESTIMONY OF THE BRONX DEFENDERS FOR THE OFFICE OF CIVIL JUSTICE’S HEARING ON UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO LEGAL SERVICES FOR TENANTS FACING EVICTION November 12, 2019, 6:00 PM Within The Bronx Defenders’ Civil Action Practice, our work focuses on defending tenants from eviction, so we are proud to be one of the legal services providers participating…
“Some former members of the Close Rikers movement such as the Bronx Defenders and VOCAL-NY pulled out because they felt that the plan lacked any real investment in new community-based services such as affordable housing and community-based mental health programs. They also objected to spending money on building institutions that they view as fundamentally harmful.”…
“Justine Olderman has worked her way up at The Bronx Defenders since joining as a staff attorney in 2000. She served as managing attorney of the criminal defense practice – where she oversaw an expansion that more than doubled the practice’s caseload – before becoming the public defender nonprofit’s first managing director. Now as executive…
“Those neighborhoods have been targeted and have suffered in the war on marijuana,” said Eli Northrup, a policy counsel for Bronx Defenders, a non-profit that provides criminal defense from its base in Melrose. “If and when marijuana becomes legal, we need to repair those communities.” “Even small marijuana convictions can prevent people from getting public…
“Alice Fontier, head of criminal defense practice for The Bronx Defenders, said there is concern that law enforcement is seeking to perpetuate high incarceration rates of minorities and maintain the status quo, adding that the tactics being taught to prosecutors are “against the spirit of the law.” “All of these sort of fear-mongering tactics and…
“Despite the fact that a majority of New Yorkers and State elected officials support the new pretrial laws, prosecutors continue to engage in a coordinated strategy to subvert the pretrial reforms before they have even gone into effect by spreading fear and misinformation. The new bail, discovery and speedy trial laws were carefully and deliberately crafted over the course…
“The trio modeled themselves on the Bronx Defenders, a nonprofit firm in New York City that also offered social services to its clients. But it was in defending clients from a predatory patchwork of municipal courts that ArchCity found its mission — and, after the death of Michael Brown brought the news media to its…
“The Bronx Defenders want the Board of Corrections to stop waiting to initiate the rule-making process so New Yorkers can weigh in because it’s a crisis. “Hundreds of people are held in solitary confinement in our city’s jails every year,” read the Bronx Defenders’ statement. “The torturous conditions devastate the people we serve and the…
Joint Statement by New York Advocates and Public Defenders on Trump’s False and Inflammatory Dog-Whistle on People in Pre-Trial Detention (New York, NY) — Today, Citizen Action of New York, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, New York County Defender Services, The Legal Aid Society, and the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund released the following joint…
“A new state law goes into effect in January that will eliminate cash bail for misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. New York City has identified nearly 900 people who are currently behind bars awaiting trial that can apply to have their bail lifted and be freed.” Watch the full video here
“Avery McNeil, the alternatives to incarceration specialist at the Bronx Defenders, a nonprofit legal organization, praised OAR for setting up a pathway that allows people to get addiction treatment without first copping to a crime that could stay on their permanent record regardless of their recovery. “That’s really important for our clients who are facing employment,…
“The Bronx HOPE program is currently reserved for people charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh-degree. Avery McNeil, the alternatives to incarceration specialist at the Bronx Defenders, a nonprofit legal organization, would like to see HOPE expand so that the program reaches more people. “More of our clients being issues DATs…
New York City Council Committee on General Welfare October 31, 2019 Written Testimony of The Bronx Defenders By Emma S. Ketteringham, Managing Director, Family Defense Practice Jessica Prince, Policy Counsel, Family Defense Practice Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of New York City Council’s Child Welfare Package. The stakes could not be…
Defender Organizations Demand an End to Solitary Confinement, Urge NYC Board of Correction to Take Action FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEW YORK — The Bronx Defenders, Neighborhood Defender Service, Brooklyn Defender Services, and New York County Defender Services call on the New York City Board of Correction (DOC) to take action to end the torture of solitary confinement. The Board will…
“New York City’s move to close the notorious prison Rikers Island could be an important step in making sure people suffering from mental illnesses, who make up half of America’s incarcerated population of 2.3 million, aren’t lost in the criminal justice system, according to speakers at an event on the problems of mass incarceration… Roberts…
The New York State Senate Standing Committee on Codes Hearing on Potential Legislative Changes to Section 50-a of the Civil Rights Law October 17, 2019 BxD expresses our strong support for S.3695 (Bailey) / A. 2513 (O’Donnell) to fully repeal New York Civil Right Law Section 50-a. Section 50-a maintains a shroud of secrecy over…
“Dinah Ortiz, a parent advocate supervisor at The Bronx Defenders and a Filter contributor, is concerned that Sesame Street’s focus on the disease model of addiction, and not drug use more generally—which ranges from from abstinence to chaotic and out of control—could add fuel to the fire of child-parent separations that target parents of color. “Sesame Street…
The Police Commissioner supports making such records public as long as disciplinary hearings are completed and wrongdoing is confirmed. “But we also know that the police officers who have a history of compliant continue to police these communities. They continue to patrol these streets. But, the public has been deprived from getting any information about…
Burns moderated a conversation following the preview among Congressman Bobby L. Rush; Novick; Max Kenner, executive director of the Bard Prison Initiative; DeAnna Hoskins, president of advocacy group JustLeadershipUSA; and Wesley Caines, an alum of the initiative and chief of staff at the Bronx Defenders. The conversation ranged from how the film was made, to…
“These elections will decide who implements the new laws, and who lobbies for or against future ones, in some of the state’s most populous upstate jurisdictions, as well as in Queens. “If district attorneys are actively resisting implementing the spirit of the reforms, they can really throw a huge wrench in the process and undermine…
“Beauty allows us to shape our individual stories and find ways to connect to others all at once. With The Top Shelf we discover personal narratives through beauty routines. In The Beauty Politic, Into The Gloss explores how beauty connects communities, and how it informs a sense of self for the people within them. Beauty can be used…