Today wrapped up the sixth and final day The Bronx Defenders 2014 Defenders’ Academy Spring Training! Over the course of the past week, 78 participants from over 20 different organizations – ranging from public defender offices to private firms to the U.S. military – have participated in an intensive trial skills program designed to strengthen…
Join The Bronx Defenders, together with a host of other partners, on May 29 & 31 for Theater of the Oppressed NYC‘s 2nd Annual Festival of Forum and Legislative Theater Can’t Get Right: Investigating Racism and Profiling in the Criminal Justice System. (more…)
Former Bronx Defenders Trial Chief, David Feige, writes about bail challenges and the successes of The Bronx Freedom Fund in Huffington Post’s The Blog: $500 makes all the difference. For thousands of indigent criminal defendants in New York City, $500 is all that stands between weeks on Riker’s Island and being branded with a criminal conviction,…
Accessible and affordable housing is a critical issue confronting many of our clients here at The Bronx Defenders. With nearly 30% of the individuals and families in this borough living under the poverty line, many Bronx residents struggle to meet basic needs and maintain stability in their daily lives. In response, our Civil Action Practice focuses…
WNYC interviews The Bronx Defenders’ Robin Steinberg about bail inequity and the work of The Bronx Freedom Fund. (more…)
This week The Bronx Defenders hosted our 2nd Annual Youth Justice Summit! The Summit brought together at our Justice Campus over 100 students from 5 different schools to participate in a series of 12 workshops facilitated by our allies at The Point, Drug Policy Alliance, the Juvenile Justice Project, and the Justice Committee. Students from…
Last week The Bronx Defenders invited fellow public defenders and advocates from 24 organizations – including 18 public defender offices – across the U.S. to its first Holistic Defense round table. The two-day gathering represented the first opportunity to convene in one room a group of innovators and trailblazers who are challenging traditional criminal justice…
A recent article in Congressional Quarterly, by Christina Carr, highlights the effectiveness of The Bronx Defenders’ New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) and its potential for scalability. The pilot project, which started late last year with funding from the New York City Council, is the first institutionally-provided public defender program in the country for immigrants…
This week, Bronx Defenders Family Defense Attorney Keith Baumann, in collaboration with Brooklyn Defender Services, led a training at Legal Services NYC on defending termination of parental rights (TPR) cases based on permanent neglect.
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Last week, Criminal Defense Attorney Mark Sedlander joined forces with Harlem Village Academies (HVA) at their High School Career Fair to talk to teens about what it’s like to be a lawyer. HVA’s Student Development Manager shared feedback from several high schoolers following the fair who mentioned Mark’s table as a stand-out; they were thrilled…
The Bronx Defenders’ Kumar Rao is quoted in Al Jazeera America regarding concerns over unreasonable searches and seizures.
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Bronx Defenders Civil Action Practice Attorney Karen Maxim spoke with a delegation of Chinese law professors and research scholars on Tuesday, April 22nd, as part of a presentation on pretrial services in the Bronx. Karen spoke about the importance of early advocacy to Holistic Defense and also discussed some the of The Bronx Defenders’ recent…
In a recent piece in The Boston Globe, Professor Elizabeth Bartholet calls for states to test infants for illegal drugs and report those with positive screens to child welfare authorities so they can be taken away from their families and placed in the foster care system. Bartholet’s presumption that evidence of drug use is evidence…
Excerpt: “Five years ago Harvey and two law-school buddies — Michael-John Voss and John McAnnar — founded ArchCity Defenders, a nonprofit with a mission to rescue those caught up in this legal morass. But more than just offering legal aid to the indigent, ArchCity Defenders works to help its clients improve their overall lives, be…
On April 22, 2014, a delegation from the government of Singapore visited The Bronx Defenders Justice Campus to learn more about Holistic Defense. The group, led by Senior Minister of State Indranee Rajah, is planning the development of a practice-focused law school in Singapore. They hope to incorporate aspects of Holistic Defense into the school’s…
The Albert Cobarrubias Justice Project writes about The Bronx Defenders Justice Campus: It’s not often lawyers at a public defender’s office are excited to show you around their building. And that’s usually for good reason – you’ve seen one defender office, you’ve seen them all. A lobby with a bullet proof glass window clients approach…
Inside City Hall asked a panel of advocates – Kate Rubin, the managing director of civil action practice for the legal organization “The Bronx Defenders”; Rashad Robinson, the executive director of the advocacy group “Color of Change”; Babe Howell, an associate professor at CUNY’s School of Law; and Fahd Ahmed, the legal and policy director…
People who most need relief during tax season are routinely victimized by exploitative tax preparers who, lacking regulation, target poor people and charge exorbitant rates, a problem highlighted in a recent New York Times article. Individuals end up with much reduced tax refunds as a result of the tax preparers’ high fees or are penalized…
On April 16, 2014, Pro Bono Attorney Annie Pineda will be speaking at a Practice Law Institute Seminar entitled “How to Handle Your First Pro Bono Case in New York 2014.” From PLI: “Pro bono representation is a vital component to ensuring access to justice for low-income New Yorkers. In addition, New York State now…
The criminal justice system can sometimes feed the poverty cycle, even for people who are eventually found not guilty. The Bronx Defenders is helping low-income defendants navigate the justice system.
NPR’s Tell Me More program interviews Executive Director Robin Steinberg and a Bronx Defenders client about the impact of our work at The Bronx Defenders.
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Alberto Ramos was a 21-year-old college student and part-time substitute teacher’s aide, aspiring to be a teacher, when he was accused and then convicted in 1985 of raping a five-year-old in the Bronx day-care center where he worked. In a case based largely on the child’s sworn testimony, Ramos was accused of taking a girl…
De esta manera un grupo de personas en proceso de deportación están recibiendo ayuda legal para su condición en EE.UU. (more…)
Un proyecto que se adelanta en la ciudad de Nueva York ayuda a cientos de indocumentados de escasos recursos a que no sean deportados. (more…)
California is no stranger to holistic medicine, holistic massage or holistic music (think soothing nature sounds). There’s even a pet store in Berkeley called the Holistic Hound. Now comes a new twist on the notion — holistic criminal defense. Touchy-feely as it may sound, none other than the U.S. Department of Justice is supporting efforts…
Watch Criminal Defense Practice Supervisor Michael Oppenheimer and Bronx Defenders client James Broadus on ABC’s ‘Here and Now’ discussing Holistic Defense, the work of the organization, and the impact of the Bronx Freedom Fund. ‘Here and Now’ is a weekly one hour program, airing on ABC in New York City, dedicated to covering the issues and…