“A New York judge has certified a class of individuals who contend the New York City Police Department has unlawfully used information contained in their sealed arrest records when investigating other cases. Justice Alexander M. Tisch of the New York Supreme Court for New York County determined Thursday that clients of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton…
“The effort has generated more than $10,000 in donations from fewer than 100 donors in less than a month, according to Kaminer, 52, who works in IT and lives in Hells Kitchen. The money has been used to free six transgender inmates so far, he said. “All of the discrimination the trans community faces in…
“A case challenging the NYPD’s access to sealed arrests is now a class action lawsuit that could involve millions of people, a judge ruled Thursday. The Bronx Defenders, which filed the suit, said the decision by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lyle Frank is a sign the NYPD should reform its rules regarding arrests that were…
Huge Class Certified in Case Against NYPD Sets Up Mass Reforms to Surveillance Databases Decision Means That NYPD will have to turn over information on how it uses millions of sealed arrest records FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 5, 2019 NEW YORK – A judge today certified a class in a lawsuit brought by The Bronx…
The Bronx Defenders strongly supports closing Rikers Island and the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center (“the Boat”). The conditions within these facilities are inhumane and there is no solution but to permanently close them. We, nevertheless, retract our original statement that supported replacing Rikers and the Boat with borough-based jails and have decided that we…
“The Daily Appeal spoke to Alice Fontier, the managing director of the criminal defense practice at The Bronx Defenders. I asked Fontier about how the slowdown has played out in criminal court in the Bronx, one of the most heavily policed counties in the country. Over the last few months, Fontier said, there had been at…
“In this episode, I talk with Asia Piña, who is an Early Defense Social Worker for the Family Defense Practice at Bronx Defenders, in the Bronx, New York. Asia explains how she works with a team of social workers, parent advocates, and attorneys to best defend parents who are being charged with abuse and neglect…
“Critics warn that the NYPD is not only violating privacy rights and civil liberties, but it is also not complying with a state law passed in 1976. The law says that when an investigation “is terminated in a person’s favor or results in a non-criminal violation,” all records are to be “sealed” and genetic material…
Federal agencies and high profile investigations are not the only places where facial recognition software (“FRS”) is being used. State and local law enforcement agencies employ FRS in investigations that range from serious to relatively mundane. FRS has been used to pinpoint suspects in cases as routine as drug sales, petty theft, robbery, and identity theft….
“In November 2018, Claire Mauksch, a lawyer with the public defenders’ organization Bronx Defenders, picked up a felony case that struck her as odd. The previous day, a suspect had been arrested on felony robbery charges for an incident that had taken place two years prior. There was little information in the file to show…
“When a child experiences a mild head injury and a parent seeks medical attention, what happens next in New York City seems to depend on the ZIP code and the color of the parent’s skin. In April, the actress Jenny Mollen, wife of the actor Jason Biggs and resident of Manhattan’s affluent West Village, announced on…
“And all of these players are buffeted simultaneously by external environmental factors: caseloads rise, budgets fall, treatment programs close, spasmodic media pressure ratchets up, options narrow. Sentences may be driven by prosecutors, but they are also influenced by defenders. For example, a recent study makes clear that the Bronx Defenders’ self-consciously “holistic” approach managed to significantly bend…
“The NYPD also claimed that it was exempt from disclosing information about its facial recognition technology because doing so could imperil future investigations. It argued that because the department is only a user—not the creator—of the software, any disclosure would violate state protections of its partner’s trade secrets. Alice Fontier, The Bronx Defenders’s Criminal Defense…
“The courts’ lack of preparedness for the new youth arraignments are on stark display at Bronx Supreme Court. Teens in The Bronx who do make it to arraignment at the youth part are publicly marched in, cuffed or shackled, right through the front doors, THE CITY found. “Any kid that’s walked in during the day…
Jaimie Blas (she/her/hers) is passionate about community service, philanthropy and helping others. Growing up and witnessing how unjust our legal system can be has fueled her passion for social justice. Prior to joining The Bronx Defenders, Jaimie worked as an office manager for a diamond manufacturer in New York City. During her time there, she managed the…
“Spurred on by these findings, Judge Katzmann’s study group decided to create the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project in 2013, with the goal of creating a pilot program for universal representation that could eventually be expanded to represent every detained immigrant with a hearing at the Varick Street Immigration Court. The City Council funded the pilot…
The Bronx Defenders is a public defender nonprofit that is radically transforming how low-income people in the Bronx are represented in the legal system. Every year, we defend thousands of New Yorkers who come into contact with the criminal legal system, and we are committed to ending mass incarceration crisis in our communities and beyond. …
Our Elizabeth Williams and Robyn Goldberg are interviewed about our Adolescent Defense Project and their work in it defending minors. Watch the full interview starting at 11:45 here
“As public defenders representing more than 20,000 people a year in the criminal legal system, we understand the importance of closing Rikers,” said Justine Olderman, Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders. “But closing Rikers will not, by itself, result in a fairer pre-trial system. With support from the New York Women’s Foundation, we are harnessing…
Over the last two decades, our advocates have radically transformed the landscape of public defense: from representing people facing criminal prosecution when we first opened our doors to standing with our clients in family court, in immigration court, in housing court, and beyond. And in the past few years, we have stepped up our demands…
“Holistic Defense is making a tangible difference in the lives of clients and changing the way they perceive the criminal justice system. These were some of the goals in mind when FSA and OPD applied for a funding grant in 2017 to launch the pilot program. The program is one of only a handful in…
Reporter Ashley Tiffaney visits The Bronx Defenders’ Annual Community Block Party in the Melrose section of the Bronx. A day of performances, music, pony rides and more in celebration of how low-income homes are represented in the justice system. See the full video here
“Interdisciplinary legal representation of parents facing child abuse or neglect child welfare cases, whose children entered foster care in New York City, resulted in 118 fewer days in foster care for the children affected. On average, a child who enters out-of-home care will spend 658 days in foster care through 48 months of petition filing…
“Deborah Lolai, a criminal defense attorney and LGBTQ crime specialist with the Bronx Defenders, said during a City Council hearing on May 1 that “the majority of trans women who I represent who have been incarcerated have been in a male facility. Contrary to what has been testified to, they are not there by choice.”…
“The Bronx Defenders, The Legal Aid Society, and Brooklyn Defender Services are also speaking about the conditions at the Bergen County Jail. The organizations provide free legal representation through the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project to detained immigrants with pending cases at the Varick Street Immigration Court. In a joint statement the organizations said…