“Most people think we won the stop-and-frisk case in 2013, when a federal court ruled the New York City Police Department’s use of the practice was unconstitutional. But ultimate victory depends on whether we reform the police practices that drove unlawful stops and arrests.” Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, Deputy Director of our Impact Litigation Practice, along…
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE** APRIL 9, 2018 (BRONX, N.Y.) – The Bronx Defenders and The Legal Aid Society issued the following joint statement this afternoon after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested and detained a client of The Legal Aid Society once his criminal case was dismissed, prompting a walkout and protest by public defenders of…
NEW YORK, N.Y. — The Bronx Defenders Civil Action Practice filed an amicus brief on behalf of itself and six amici curiae including the Community Service Society of New York, Legal Action Center, Neighborhood Defender Services of Harlem, Youth Represent, Urban Justice Center Mental Health Project, and Brooklyn Defender Services in the 2nd Circuit Court…
“The time for meaningful reform has come. Impacted communities and the greater public – your constituents – now recognize the profound injustices that Albany has permitted to exist for decades, while other states have taken action to fix the problems. We need genuine change, and we need it this year.” The Bronx Defenders joined with…
The Bronx Defenders are proud to announce today that Candice Carnage, an experienced executive with over 20 years of non-profit experience, will serve as the organization’s new Chief Operating Officer. Carnage is a versatile, high-energy executive who leads organizations through change and challenge to support their mission. She is a hands-on leader with an extensive…
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Join us Friday, June 22nd for our Annual Celebration of Families! The American Bar Association designated June as National Reunification Month to celebrate the accomplishments of parents in getting their children home. To commemorate this special month and the importance it holds for our clients who are parents, The Bronx Defenders hosts an Annual Celebration of Families event each…
“When we listen to reporting in the media that tends to be pro-removal of children, parents are bad, black mothers are bad…you’re reading that more than you think. Pay attention and listen to it, and recognize the historical origins of that in this country. The quickness with which white women have told black and brown…
NEW YORK, N.Y. — The Bronx Defenders, The Center for Constitutional Rights, The NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund Inc., and The New York Civil Liberties Union filed an amicus brief in the New York State Court of Appeals in The People v. Nicholas Hill (APL-2017-00182). In the case, a split First Department panel ruled…
“What we’re trying to do is redefine public defense and in doing so, transform the way that people are treated in our justice system…we go wherever the client goes and we defend that client by whatever means necessary.” Justine Olderman, Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders sits down with BronxNet Community Television’s “Today’s Verdict” with…
“As a public defender, I have seen innocent people’s lives devastated by charges resulting from lies by police…But police do not go straight from the street to the witness stand.” In this USA Today op-ed, Supervising Criminal Defense attorney Michael Bloch calls for prosecutors, the gatekeepers who usher police through the criminal justice system, to…
“Simply put, Spanish-speaking Americans rarely receive their constitutional right to a fair and speedy trial. ‘If we’re trying to have a fair justice system, then we need to make the justice system accessible to the constituents and make it reflect the community,’ Morales says.” In this interview with Quartz, Jodi Morales-Vargas, an attorney in our…
Sarah Deri Oshiro, managing director of our Immigration Practice speaks with NY1 Noticias about the urgent need for ICE to stop targeting New Yorkers who are seeking due process and for the New York State court system to prohibit ICE from entering our courthouses. Watch the interview here.
“The settlement has far-reaching reforms that will require the NYPD and the Bronx DA to make significant changes to the way they handle these processes. When someone is arrested, they’re supposed to get a voucher indicating what property has been taken. That wasn’t happening on a regular basis, and now as part of this settlement,…
“The proposed change is ill-informed, overly bureaucratic, and further punishes and stigmatizes low-income children, young people, and families who rely on this crucial nutrition assistance. Working with thousands in the Bronx community every year, we know how difficult it already is to qualify for and maintain SNAP benefits, due to highly restrictive eligibility requirements. These…
“The New York City government has reached a settlement with plaintiffs attorneys in a suit challenging the police department’s retention of seized cash and property in criminal cases in which the city has agreed to implement a set of reforms.” The New York Law Journal covers our recent settlement in Encarnacion v. City of New…
“This dysfunctional and unconstitutional practice disproportionately harms the low-income communities that are targeted by broken windows policing and least able to afford these costly consequences.” Niji Jain, an attorney in our Impact Litigation Practice discusses how our settlement in Encarnacion v. City of New York will ensure that New Yorkers who have been arrested will no longer…
Niji Jain, our Impact Litigation Attorney, on The Bronx Defenders’ settlement of a federal lawsuit claiming the NYPD unconstitutionally keeps money and other property long after a case is resolved. The lawsuit was initially filed to challenge the NYPD’s unconstitutional retention of property after a case is closed. The terms of this settlement, however, extend…
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE** Reforms will remove often insurmountable barriers for New Yorkers seeking return of their property BRONX, N.Y. – As the result of a settlement approved today, New York City will implement a series of reforms to ensure that the NYPD ceases its unconstitutional practice of indefinitely holding personal property from the hundreds of thousands of…
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** BRONX DEFENDERS, LEGAL AID JOINT STATEMENT ON BRONX ICE COURTHOUSE ARREST BRONX, NY –The Bronx Defenders and The Legal Aid Society issued the following joint statement this afternoon after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested a Legal Aid Society client outside of Bronx Criminal Court which prompted the subsequent walkout and protest…
On May 16, 2018, The Bronx Defenders is hosting a community forum about commonplace forms of police brutality, including physical violence, harassment, and abuse. We want to hear directly from New Yorkers who have experienced or witnessed these problems in their communities. WHEN: 5:30PM – 8:00PM, Wednesday, May 16, 2018 WHERE: 360 161st St, Bronx, New York The event…
“Our entire model is designed around the intersection of people’s involvement in various justice systems. Let’s say you were held in on bail. What are the implications in terms of your housing, your employment, your custody of your children, your immigration status? We do all of it. We follow the client wherever the client goes.”…
“We know that these [marijuana] arrests are really harmful and destructive to our clients, their families and their communities,” said Scott Levy, Special Counsel to BxD’s Criminal Defense Practice, noting that most of his clients are black and Latino males. “A single arrest for this can disrupt a job, a living situation, child care arrangements….
On January 25, the White House released its Framework on Immigration Reform & Border Security. The Bronx Defenders’ Managing Director of Immigration, Sarah Deri Oshiro, responded with the following statement: “The immigration proposal put forth by the Administration offers questionable relief for Dreamers in return for draconian policies that will harm immigrant communities. Problematic aspects of…
“Holistic lawyers and social workers don’t intimidate child witnesses, but work collaboratively with parents to strengthen and stabilize their families. They help inform the child welfare investigative process, not impede it.” Emma Ketteringham, Managing Director of the Family Defense Practice, wrote a joint letter to the editor of The Daily Record responding to Monroe County’s…