*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE *** Detained Immigrants and New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) Providers Sue U.S. Government over Refusal to Produce Detained Immigrants In-Person for Deportation Hearings Lawsuit Seeks to Restore the Constitutional and Statutory Rights of Hundreds of Detained Immigrants by Ending ICE’s Blanket Use of Video Teleconferencing at Varick Street Immigration Court (NEW…
“In the five years I’ve worked as a defender, I have never met a transgender client who was not abused or harassed in some way by the NYPD during the process of their arrest.” Deb Lolai, our LGBTQ specialist, wrote an op-ed highlighting transphobic practice rampant in the NYPD. While in detention, trans and gender…
New York City Council Committee on Public Safety and Committee on Justice System Joint Hearing re: Oversight – Police Discipline February 7, 2019 Written Testimony of The Bronx Defenders By Jenn Rolnick Borchetta & Oded Oren Chairman Richards, Chairman Lancman, and members of the Committees, my name is Jenn Rolnick Borchetta and I am Deputy…
The Bronx Defenders, along with the Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services and other advocates, demand to be sent to MDC Warden Herman Quay and access the jail’s housing units, medical facilities and mess halls. “They lost the right to say that they can manage this. They lost all credibility.” Read more here.
“Every aspect of my role from mentoring and fostering interest in public defense careers in students early on to extending offers…to saying goodbye to my colleagues who no longer found this career to be sustainable for them…I am hearing the same question over and over. While I am incredibly committed to supporting my clients and…
February 1, 2019 Dear Mayor de Blasio, We, a diverse group of human service providers, faith-based leaders, and advocates call on the leadership of New York City to immediately adopt a city-wide policy to safeguard children at the time of a parent’s arrest and provide all arresting officers with substantive training to minimize trauma to…
“ICE arrests inside and around New York courthouses increased by 1700 percent between 2016 and 2018, according to a report by the Immigrant Defense Project. Queens and Brooklyn account for the highest number of courthouse ICE arrests in the state, the report reveals.” Read more here.
In New York City, supervised release is an alternative to jail and bail. “It reinforces this notion that people charged with violent offenses are somehow less deserving of the presumption of innocence than others.” Scott Levy, our special counsel, on how excluding certain statutes in supervised release hinder reform. Read more here.
“His murder was in the context of a stop. It was a horrible example of the officers thinking black people pose a threat, even for movements that are innocuous and benign.” Our Deputy Director of Impact Litigation, Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, spoke to New York Magazine’s The City for the anniversary of Amadou Diallo. Read more…
“There’s another way that New Yorkers can push for police accountability–and it involves their elected district attorneys. This form of accountability comes from ‘suppression’ hearings.” Oded Oren, our criminal defense attorney, wrote an op-ed on how New Yorkers can push for police accountability through holding elected district attorneys responsible for their inactions. Suppression hearings held…
“Public defenders have demanded the Department of Correction disable all surveillance cameras filming their first encounters with clients amid an ongoing case over whether the recordings violate the constitutional right to an attorney.” Read more here.
“They claim that there was a gun in the bag. When they tested the bag for fingerprints there were thirteen fingerprints on the bag, none of which matched my clients’. We ultimately won this trial but my client was this close to going to prison. Had we gotten this evidence before, we might have been…
This Article offers the first large-scale, rigorous evaluation of the impact of holistic defense on criminal justice outcomes. In the Bronx, New York City, a holistic defense provider (The Bronx Defenders) and a traditional defender (the Legal Aid Society) operate side-by-side within the same court system, with case assignment determined quasi-randomly based on court shift…
“People say, ‘Take my liberty but I want to keep my children,” says Emma Ketteringham, our Managing Director of the Family Defense Practice. Legal counsel is critical for parents undergoing investigation or in family court, especially when a child is at stake. Stella B. said she never had the opportunity to be properly investigated because…
***Joint Statement*** New York, NY – Today, a broad cross-section of criminal justice advocates and legal service providers issued the following joint statement condemning comments made by Mayor de Blasio on bail and parole reform during a media availability with the NYPD on Thursday, January 3rd. The letter states: We are appalled by New…
“There needs to be automatic expungement of criminal records because the racial disparity will continue to haunt people.” Eli Northrup, our Associate Special Counsel to Criminal Defense, talks about how it’s imperative to be intentional about equity for minorities as marijuana legalization becomes likely in 2019. Simply making it legal to possess and smoke marijuana…
Our Emma Ketteringham and Erin Cloud spoke to The New York Times on how pregnant women with a history of drug use are mistreated, abused and criminalized for larger structural issues. “According to National Advocates for Pregnant Women, an advocacy and legal group, in just about every state, expectant mothers with a history or suspicion…
The New York Giants visited The Bronx Defenders’ office to discuss everything from mass incarceration to what sports’ role is in working toward justice. “We are well aware that there is a strong history of social activism in sports, but I will say as public defenders, this is the first time that we have seen…
“There are some excellent 18-B attorneys and there are some people who aren’t as committed to handling their clients as they should be,” says Alice Fontier, Managing Director of the Criminal Defense Practice. “The Bronx sees an average of about 100 homicide cases annually. Fontier said that defense providers such as The Bronx Defenders can bring more…
The LGBTQ Defense Project is a dedicated team of advocates representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer residents in legal matters.
Our Mary Anne Mendenhall and her client Tina have a conversation on Audible’s “New Family Values” podcast. Hear them in Chapter 7: Protecting the Child, here.
It has been five months since Immigration and Customs Enforcement has transported any immigrants to appear in person at the Varick Street immigration courts. This is taking a toll on our clients, their ability to fight their cases, and their right to due process. Our Sarah Deri Oshiro explains how some immigrants appear before a…
“While indigent defense is chronically underfunded, hard-working public defenders stand shoulder to shoulder with their clients every day in the fight for justice. Rather than see defender as contributing to a system of racism and oppression, we should look to defenders as a critical part of the new future Mr. Mill calls on us to…
Alice Fontier, managing director of the Criminal Defense practice, welcomed the DA’s decision to not ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Suazo case in hopes of changing the law so that all defendants accused of class B misdemeanors, not just immigrants, can get jury trials. She said citizens also face harsh punishments if…
In any given day, 16,000 New Yorkers are held in on bail because they cannot afford the price of their freedom. We are proud to stand with a coalition of 136 advocate groups calling for meaningful, comprehensive, and true bail reform. We must no longer accept a bail system that creates and reinforces wealth- and…