“Under Mayor de Blasio’s proposal someone like me would not deserve free immigration representation. I believe this is cruel and unfair. No one should be judged by a single mistake. Life is hard in the city and even the best people make mistakes. New York City is my home. It is where my children were…
May 4, 2017, New York – In response to the ongoing debate between Mayor de Blasio and Speaker Mark-Viverito regarding City funding for the New York Immigrant Family Project (NYIFUP), The Bronx Defenders, one of three NYIFUP providers, issued the following statement: “At a time when we should be radically reimagining what it means to be…
On April 24, 2017, Runa Rajagopal, director of The Bronx Defenders’ Civil Action Practice, presented written and oral testimony before the New York City Council Committees on Public Housing and Oversight and Investigations regarding a new report by the New York City Department of Investigation’s (DOI) on the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) policy…
“Oklahoma is sending the highest recorded number of women to prison, but a new non-profit program based in north Tulsa is trying to buck that trend. The group, Still She Rises, is a team of attorneys that works specifically for low-income mothers in north Tulsa, representing them for free.” BxD’s latest project, Still She Rises,…
“What we knew initially was that we wanted to create a holistic law defender law office that could represent women in the criminal justice system, recognizing that Oklahoma is the No. 1 state for incarceration for women.” – BxD Executive Director Robin Steinberg speaking with Tulsa World about our new project, Still She Rises, Tulsa….
Is the City of New York doing everything it can to ensure safety and due process for immigrant communities? In this interview with The New Yorker, BxD Managing Director, Justine Olderman had a simple answer: “Unless we take immediate steps to protect immigrants who seek redress in our city’s courts, we should stop calling ourselves…
“Allowing ICE to use the city’s court system to trap immigrants is immoral. If New York City is to live up to its promise as a sanctuary city, there can be no place for federal deportation forces in our courts.” Op-ed by BxD’s Justine Olderman for the New York Daily News. Read the piece here.
Samantha received her Masters in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice in 2016 where she concentrated in Macro Social Work with a specialization in Criminal Justice. While in school, Samantha interned at the Pennsylvania Prison Society as well as the University of Pennsylvania’s Goldring Reentry Initiative. She also…
March 21, 2017, New York –The Bronx Defenders has asked the NY Supreme Court to compel the NYPD to appear at a hearing to explain its property seizure database and to produce internal records about policies and procedures involving millions of dollars in cash and property seized during arrests each year. The Bronx Defenders sued…
Erin Cloud, a supervising attorney of our Family Defense Practice, writes a Letter to the Editor to Stacy Patton to clarify the ways in which the disproportionate reporting of black families to the child protective services is reflective of economic injustice and racial inequality of low income families rather than about their actual parenting. “Increased…
“I have yet to speak with or to hear an employer who employs a formerly incarcerated person complain about the quality and the passion of the work that they have received.” Our Re-Entry and Community Outreach Coordinator Wesley Caines on life after prison. Read the entire interview here
“With threats to the balance of power in this country on the rise, protecting the class action is urgent. Courts can serve as a check against civil rights violations, but only if lawyers are able to bring cases that challenge government abuse.” Op-ed by BxD’s Jenn Rolnick Borchetta for The Marshall Project on new pro-business legislation that could…
Walter Rodriguez, Director of Community Organizing at The Bronx Defenders, sits with Daren Jaime of BronxNet TV to discuss our mission and the importance of defending the Bronx community. Check it out!
“All families have a constitutional right to be together, free from the unwarranted interference of third parties, particularly the state…This fundamental right recognizes the inherent value in family ties, which provide a connection to culture and identity, and serve as a protective social bond.” Erin Cloud published “Family Defense in the Age of Black Lives…
“It’s not enough for cities like New York to declare themselves ‘sanctuaries,’ which simply means that the local police won’t detain noncitizens on the federal government’s behalf. If cities really want to protect immigrants, they must also end the quota-driven style of policing that makes immigrants the victims of unnecessary arrests and disproportionate punishment…” Op-ed…
New York – The Bronx Defenders released the following statement in response to the Mayor and Council Speaker’s announcement they have agreed to create a universal right to counsel for low-income New Yorkers facing eviction. “We applaud Mayor de Blasio and the City Council for taking this historic step toward making NYC a more equitable…
“We’re talking about stops and frisks and arrests in the sanctity of people’s homes that have had an incredible human toll on the relationship between the community and the police,” said Johanna Steinberg, director of the Impact Litigation Practice at The Bronx Defenders, which was also part of the lawsuit. “This will create accountability and…
New York – The Bronx Defenders released the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s orders this week regarding new immigration policies: “The president’s actions this week threaten the well-being, safety, and rights of immigrant families in the Bronx and across the country. As an organization committed to serving one of New York City’s…
“TULSA — A week into the job, Robin Steinberg and her staff are already paying house calls. It’s not typical for attorneys, but Steinberg’s team doesn’t practice a typical approach. Rather, the Still She Rises team is one of the only nonprofit law offices in the country — if not the only — that is…
From June 5 to June 10, The Bronx Defenders will be hosting its 2017 Defenders’ Academy: Spring Training program. Defenders’ Academy: Spring Training is a six-day intensive trial skills program for criminal, family, and civil defenders. Through the lens of a complex case problem, participants will receive training on voir dire, opening statements, direct examination, cross…
New York – The Bronx Defenders submitted a friend-of-the court brief before the New York Court of Appeals, on behalf of itself and six other public defense providers in New York City, in a case involving the invocation of the right to counsel during police interrogations. The case, People v. Slocum, is headed to the…
“Since its launch in 2013, the project has provided lawyers for 2,000 immigrants through a partnership with three public defender organizations: Bronx Defenders, the Legal Aid Society and Brooklyn Defender Services.” WNYC story on the impact of the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP), the first public defender program in the country for people in…
“Public defenders are pushing City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito as she enters her last year in office to finally allow a vote on two controversial police reform bills. In a letter to Mark-Viverito, nine lawyers’ groups said that the bills known as the Right to Know Act — which the speaker has blocked from the…
New York – Representatives from public defense providers in New York City gathered today on the steps of the New York City Hall to urge Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to call for a vote on the Right to Know Act after the legislation has remained stalled in the Committee on Public Safety for over two years. The…
“No one knows for certain what President-elect Donald Trump will do to keep his pledge to deport millions of unauthorized immigrants when he takes office. There is, however, a general consensus that removals will rise sharply under his administration. Some states and local governments have made it clear that they won’t wait and see. Whether…