“If the District Attorney’s office believes every gun possession case is ‘extraordinary,’ they misunderstand the nature of Raise the Age. A blanket position that every firearm possession amounts to ‘extraordinary circumstances’ would be an attempt to get around the intent of Raise the Age and to continue using the adult criminal justice system against children.”…
Scott Levy, Special counsel of the Criminal Defense Practice, presented testimony at City Council Oversight Hearing: Why Does the City Make It So Hard to Post Bail? Written Comments of The Bronx Defenders New York City Council Committee on Criminal Justice & Committee on Justice System Oversight Hearing: Why Does the City Make It So Hard to…
Between Oct 2016-May 2018, ACS reported a 30% increase in “emergency removals,” removing a child before the case has appeared before a judge. Our Managing Director of the Family Defense Practice Emma Ketteringham testified before the New York City Council on the impact of this alarming trend. “Parent advocates like Coles and Emma Ketteringham of the legal…
New York City Council Justice System Committee New York City Council, General Welfare Hearing on Family Separation in New York City November 27, 2018 Written Testimony of The Bronx Defenders, By Emma Ketteringham Our Family Defense Practice has been in place since 2005 and represents parents in child protection and all of the related Family…
The New York Court of Appeals has ruled that immigrants are entitled to a jury trial, even when they’re accused of misdemeanors that carry sentences of six months or less. This is a groundbreaking decision that will provide people a meaningful day in court to fight charges that could lead to deportation. “Jury trials are…
“What lead me to work with the marginalized community is my own personal experience of having child welfare in my life. In the beginning of 1999, I had that infamous knock on the door in the middle of the night that we [parents] fear so much.” Our Dinah Ortiz-Adames, parent advocate, talks about about how…
Janae Hunte (she/her/hers) received her J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where she was the recipient of the David Berg Public Interest Fellowship and the Jacob Burns Medal for outstanding academic and professional achievements. While at Cardozo, she was the Editor-in-Chief of the Cardozo Journal of Law & Gender and the Treasurer for…
“Due process requires that the government give you a hearing within a few days of seizing your car,” says Niji Jain, Impact Litigation attorney at The Bronx Defenders. “And if that’s what’s required for when your car is seized, then due process certainly requires at least the same promptness when a person is themselves locked…
On November 15, 2018, The Bronx Defenders, Cardozo Law Immigration Justice Clinic, and New York Civil Liberties Union filed a putative class action lawsuit against the U.S. government — including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The suit challenges the unconstitutional practice of jailing immigrant New Yorkers for months…
Cardozo Law Immigration Justice Clinic, The New York Civil Liberties Union, and The Bronx Defenders file suit challenging detention of immigrants without prompt access to judges *** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE *** New York, N.Y. — Cardozo Law Immigration Justice Clinic, The New York Civil Liberties Union, and The Bronx Defenders filed a putative class action lawsuit…
Immigrants who are detained by ICE in New York are forced to languish behind bars for weeks and months, waiting for their first appearance before a judge. The Bronx Defenders, Cardozo School of Law, and New York Civil Liberties Union – NYCLU have filed a lawsuit against ICE and the Department of Justice challenging these egregious delays in…
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, New York County Defender Services, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders and Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem issued a joint letter following the midterm elections to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York State Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie…
A new study released today by RAND and the University of Pennsylvania Law School finds that The Bronx Defenders’ unique model of holistic defense significantly reduces incarceration rates, sentence length, and pre-trial detention, saving taxpayer dollars, without harming public safety. In total, the study estimates that The Bronx Defenders has saved its clients 1.1 million…
New York witnessed a historic election, and it is time for it to yield historic change. We joined with our fellow New York City defender offices to call upon political leaders in Albany to pass urgent and critical criminal justice reform. In a joint letter, we joined with The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, Neighborhood Defender Service…
BRONX, N.Y. — A new study released today by RAND and the University of Pennsylvania Law School finds that The Bronx Defenders’ unique model of holistic defense significantly reduces incarceration rates, sentence length, and pre-trial detention, saving taxpayer dollars, without harming public safety. In total, the study estimates that The Bronx Defenders has saved its…
“I believe voting is a right. I recognize that there’s a perpetual punishment system that exists. And for me, voting is fundamental to attacking that and addressing that and dismantling that.” Our Wesley Caines, Re-Entry and Community Outreach Coordinator, on voting while out on parole. Read more here
“Pay disparity in public defense disproportionately affects aspiring defenders from the communities that we serve…As we are all aware, low-income Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people are overwhelmingly overrepresented in the court systems as defendants, and incredibly underrepresented as defenders. ” Our Shannon Cumberbatch, Director of Hiring and Diversity, testified before the New York City Council on…
“Families and lawyers and their community are here. And the separation from those resources is critical to enabling detainees to actually win their cases and remain permanently in the United States or obtain release on bond,” says Ryan Brewer, our Supervising Attorney for Immigration. Read the entire transcript here
“When you are powerless in a system that is tearing your family apart, you hold on to any little ray of hope. My hope and strength came from my boys and the deep and instinctual knowledge that I, as their mother, could not and would not allow strangers to obliterate the years of nurture and…
New York City Council Committee on Justice System Oversight Hearing on Cost of Justice September 27, 2018 Testimony of The Bronx Defenders By Dawit Getachew Chairman Lancman and members of the Committee, my name is Dawit Getachew, and I am a criminal defense attorney and Associate Special Counsel at The Bronx Defenders. I am grateful…
“I frequently recall one child who was asked to draw himself as a superhero. I asked him what his power would be. ‘When I grow up, my superpower is going to be to keep families together,’ he said. ‘So no kid has to go through what I am going through right now.’” As an attorney…
Our lawsuit against the NYPD states that the department is routinely accessing the sealed records of thousands of people and targeting people of color with low-level charges. Under New York’s sealing statutes, arrest records on file with the NYPD that do not result in criminal convictions must be sealed and not disclosed to anyone….
This Monday, the first of five public forums was held to inform new legislation being drafted by Governor Cuomo’s marijuana legalization work group. The goal is to introduce a bill for state lawmakers to consider in the upcoming legislative session. Our Criminal Defense Practice Attorney Eli Northrup attended that forum. “Law enforcement needs to be prevented from using…
The Bronx Defenders strongly oppose the NYPD’s claim that they have the right to use information from sealed cases to conduct investigations. Keeping files on individuals with sealed cases has serious ramifications for millions. Our deputy director of impact litigation, Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, says “Half of all NYPD arrests do not result in criminal convictions, yet…
*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE *** SEPTEMBER 11, 2018 CONTACT Jared Chausow, Brooklyn Defender Services, (650) 814-0565, jchausow@bds.org Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society, 929-441-2384, rhaskins@legal-aid.org Anna Kim, The Bronx Defenders, 646-504-2977, annakim@bronxdefenders.org New York, N.Y — Attorneys from Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, and Legal Aid Society – New York City’s public defender organizations providing…