“As civil public defenders, we venture into courts, struggles and conflicts where no constitutional right to a lawyer, and very few other protections exist to ensure fairness in process and justice on behalf of the people we represent. We fight for the basic necessities that are destabilized or deprived once an individual is criminally or…
“The “Protect Our Courts Act,” sponsored by Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages and Senator Brad Hoylman, is one way New York state can counterbalance these devastating consequences, and we have one day left in NY’s legislative session to help protect our non-citizen community members. Thomas R. Decker, field office director for Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) New…
“As lawyers at the Bronx Defenders, we see how the loitering law acts as an invitation to the police to abuse and target our clients for simply “walking while female” in certain neighborhoods. We have represented women who were arrested while walking to meet friends at a bar, waiting outside a store or walking home with diapers…
Runa Rajagopal, our Managing Director of the Civil Action Practice, was selected as a Wasserstein Fellow -The Program recognizes exemplary lawyers who have distinguished themselves in public interest work and who can assist students who are considering similar career paths This year they received over 130 nominations for just a few spots and Runa was…
Sarah Deri Oshiro, our Managing Director of the Immigration Practice, was awarded the Association’s Legal Services Award. She will be receiving her award at the Thirtieth Annual Legal Services Award presentation. The Awards will be held on Tuesday, June 25th at 4 p.m. at the Association. Please click here to register for the event.
JOINT STATEMENT FROM NYIFUP LEGAL PROVIDERS ON CITY COUNCIL RESPONSE RECOMMENDING $16.5 MILLION TO SUPPORT CRUCIAL IMMIGRANT LEGAL SERVICES (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, and The Bronx Defenders – New York City’s defender organizations providing free legal representation through the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) to detained immigrants with pending…
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** March 12, 2019 JOINT STATEMENT FROM NYIFUP LEGAL PROVIDERS ON ICE ADVANCING VARICK STREET HEARINGS WITHOUT NOTICE, EFFECTIVELY STRIPPING IMMIGRANTS OF THEIR DUE PROCESS RIGHTS (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, and The Bronx Defenders – New York City’s defender organizations providing free legal representation through the New York Immigrant…
New York City Council Committee on Public Safety Jointly with the Committee on Justice System, the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Business Licensing Hearing re: Marijuana Legalization: Equity and Justice for NYC. February 27, 2019 Written Testimony of The Bronx Defenders By Eli Northrup, Associate Special Counsel to the Criminal Defense Practice As a holistic…
New York City Council Committee on Criminal Justice Hearing re: Oversight – Department of Correction Programming February 26, 2019 Written Testimony of The Bronx Defenders By Elizabeth Williams Good morning Chairman Powers and members of the Committee on Criminal Justice. My name is Elizabeth Williams and I am a social worker in the Criminal Defense…
“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…
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.
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…
If you think you might be a member of the class, click here On April 24, 2018, The Bronx Defenders filed a class action against the City of New York and the NYPD for illegally using and sharing information from sealed arrest records in defiance of long-standing privacy laws that protect privacy and the…
Powerful op-ed by BxD’s Emma Ketteringham in the New York Times about poverty and the child-protection system: “For more than a decade, my colleagues at the Bronx Defenders and I have represented thousands of parents like Eline in child-protection proceedings. A majority of them have never abused a child. Yet child services charges them with “parental…
“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.
“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…
“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…
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…
“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…
“An hour ride on most NYC subway lines should be enough to see how New York City, for all its diversity, is an economically and racially segregated city. A few stops along that same ride can also illustrate how policing in communities varies depending on the neighborhood. Take the D train from 59th-Columbus Circle to…
“While it’s hard enough for the working poor to find qualified representation, doing so as an immigrant in detention is almost impossible. Just 37 percent of people facing deportation have an attorney with them. For people in immigration detention, that number falls to 14 percent, according to a study published in the University of Pennsylvania…
Contact: media@bronxdefenders.org August 4, 2016, New York – Today, The Bronx Defenders filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of the State of New York against the New York Police Department, arguing the department has violated New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) by refusing to provide relevant information pertaining to its policies and procedures…
Contact: media@bronxdefenders.org July 26, 2016, New York – The City of New York and The Bronx Defenders have requested a six-month stay of the federal class action lawsuit Encarnacion v. City of New York after the Bronx District Attorney’s Office agreed to implement a series of reforms to ensure the NYPD promptly releases personal property…
The New York Police Department (NYPD) is planning a large body-worn camera (BWC) experiment involving 1,000 cameras at precincts all over the City, and is seeking public input to develop the policies that will guide officers using the cameras. This pilot program emerged in part from the class action lawsuits in which the court found the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk…
“The NYPD’s practice of refusing to release money and property allegedly tied to criminal activity is slated to become the subject of a federal class action lawsuit. A Bronx law firm, which sued the city in January over its civil forfeiture policy, amended the complaint Friday to add more plaintiffs who said they were unable…
“Kaleb Hagos was arrested by police on September 23rd, 2015, and had $2,931.68 in cash confiscated, along with an iPhone he was carrying in his pocket. Since then, the case against him has been terminated, and his lawyers at the Bronx Defenders have repeatedly tried to retrieve his phone and money—but to date, the Bronx…
Contact: media@bronxdefenders.org The Bronx Defenders Seeks Class Cert. in Property Retrieval Suit June 3rd, 2016, New York – The Bronx Defenders filed an amended complaint today in Encarnacion v. City of New York, and will ask a federal judge to grant class certification in their lawsuit challenging the NYPD’s unconstitutional practice of retaining people’s property…
Our Executive Director, Robin Steinberg, published the following piece in Daily News about our lawsuit challenging systemic court delay in the Bronx. “This situation constitutes nothing short of a constitutional crisis. People in the poorest borough in New York, with the highest percentage of black and Latino residents, are being forced to choose between returning to…
The New York Times Editorial Board weighs in on Trowbridge et al., v. Cuomo et al, our federal lawsuit challenging the epidemic of court delays in the Bronx Criminal Court. “This Dickensian nightmare is all too common in the Bronx, according to a class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday in Federal District Court by the Bronx Defenders,…
“Public defenders in the Bronx filed a lawsuit Tuesday against lawmakers in New York. They charge that courts are chronically understaffed, jeopardizing the right to a speedy trial for many defendants.” Listen to the story here. For more on the lawsuit, see our press release.
Contact: media@bronxdefenders.org Broken System Undermines Right to Speedy Trial and Due Process for Thousands of People Charged with Low-Level Offenses, Causing Significant Social and Economic Hardships NEW YORK (May 10, 2016) – A federal class action lawsuit was filed today against Governor Andrew Cuomo and the administrators of New York State’s Unified Court System for…
THE MORNING OF MAY 4, 2011, Jameelah El-Shabazz watched out the window of her Bronx apartment as a team of police officers fanned across the rooftop of Banana Kelly High School. The 43-year-old mother of five said she didn’t think much of the scene — drug raids were common in her neighborhood. As she did…
How an Unusual Team Helps Extricate Bronx Residents From NYC’s Criminal-Justice System The Bronx Defenders do more than go to court. It was 1999, and Wendy was in solitary confinement in an upstate New York prison, reeling from the effects of heroin withdrawal. In pain, she oscillated between two thoughts: “I wanted to believe that…
Last February, Harold Stanley was on his block one evening, in the Morrissania section of the Bronx. He decided to drive to McDonalds, and when he came back, sat in his parked car to eat. “Next thing I know somebody’s tapping on my window, telling me get out the car,” he said. “And I said…
After news of Kalief Browder’s suicide, many advocates called on Mayor de Blasio to fix New York’s draconian and unfair bail system. On July 8th, Mayor de Blasio responded by announcing a new bail reform for New York City’s court systems. People charged with certain misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies would have the option of supervised…
Every year, thousands of innocent people are sent to jail only because they can’t afford to post bail, putting them at risk of losing their jobs, custody of their children — even their lives. Two years later, that may be changing. This summer, the New York City Council took a tentative step toward reform by…
About 1,000 times a week in New York City, a judge tells a defendant who is presumed innocent that he or she can pay for their freedom by putting up bail—an amount of money that will be forfeited if the defendant fails to show up for court. Because many people are arrested on fairly minor…
The 2015 Holistic Defense for Public Defender Offices Technical Assistance Project Request for Proposals Deadline: August 21, 2015 Overview The Center for Holistic Defense, a project of The Bronx Defenders, is a resource center for public defender offices, individual advocates, policy makers and others who seek to adopt a more holistic approach to public defense…
Recognizing the pain and trauma of family separation, The Bronx Defenders advocates tirelessly in Bronx Family Court to ensure that our clients are given fair access to justice and that their children are not removed merely because their families are over-policed and prosecuted for being poor. Responding to this reality, we launched our Healthy Mothers,…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 17, 2014 Contact: Scott Levy, The Bronx Defenders, 718-838-7833, ScottL@bronxdefenders.org The Hidden Tax: Economic Costs of Marijuana Enforcement in the Bronx and New York City New York – The Bronx Defenders released The Hidden Tax: Economic Costs of Marijuana Enforcement in New York, a report by The Bronx Defenders Fundamental Fairness…
At this year’s National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) conference, Blueprint for Justice: Designing a New Paradigm for Impact, a total of 16 Bronx Defenders advocates — attorneys, social workers, and data and technology specialists across the Criminal Defense, Family Defense, and Civil Action Practices, as well as the Technology & Evaluation Department — will be presenting on 4 different…
The Otis Bantum Correctional Center has the largest solitary confinement unit on Rikers Island. It holds roughly 400 inmates, according to the Board of Correction. The Otis Bantum Correctional Center has the largest solitary confinement unit on Rikers Island. It holds roughly 400 inmates, according to the Board of Correction. (Brigid Bergin/WNYC) A new report…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 12, 2014 Contact: Skylar Albertson, The Bronx Defenders, (347) 842-1215, SkylarA@bronxdefenders.org Voices From the Box: Solitary Confinement at Rikers Island New York – The Bronx Defenders released a report summarizing the experiences of 59 current and former clients who were subjected to extreme isolation in solitary confinement at Rikers Island. The…
Safer and Stronger: Policy Recommendations for Community Safety in the Bronx Download the PDF here: The Bronx Defenders – Safer and Stronger 2014 The Bronx Defenders provides holistic and client-centered criminal defense, family defense, immigration defense, civil legal services, social work support, and community advocacy to indigent people of the Bronx. Our staff of over 200 represents 35,000…
As part of the New York Law Journal’s 125th anniversary celebration, the Law Journal has created the Impact Award to honor individuals, groups or projects that have had significant and lasting impact on the legal community in New York. The following, in no particular order, are the winners of the 2013 Impact Award. The honorees…
The Bronx Defenders is thrilled to announce that it will receive the National Legal Aid and Defender Association’s 2013 Clara Shortridge Foltz Award for its work pioneering holistic defense in the South Bronx. The Bronx Defenders is deeply grateful for the award and honored to be recognized as one of the many defender offices that…
Bronx, NY – Today, the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center (VCBC), known colloquially as “The Boat,” was towed away from Hunts Point to become scrap metal. The Boat was an 800-bed jail barge that was brought to the Bronx in 1992 as a temporary facility to reduce overcrowding in city jails. It wasn’t decommissioned until…
#Right2RemainSilent Legislation Would Ensure that Young New Yorkers Consult with a Lawyer Prior to a Police Interrogation The Youth Justice and Opportunities Act Would Expand Alternatives to Incarceration, Record Sealing for Young Adults The Youth Justice Innovation Fund Would Bring Unspent Dollars into Communities to Serve Young People, Bolster Neighborhood Safety (NEW YORK, NY) –…
As an organization, The Bronx Defenders is committed to listening to the people we represent and being responsive to their needs and concerns. Client surveys are one way we try to connect with the people we serve to seek their input about their engagement with us, better meet their needs, and hold ourselves accountable…
The Bronx, NY – Damian Fagon, Director of The Bronx Cannabis Hub, issued the following statement in response to a state judge signing a deal in court today whereby the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) agrees to extend its current rules regarding the placement of cannabis dispensaries in proximity to schools until February 2026: “We…
(NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, New York County Defender Services, the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, elected officials, local community groups, and impacted New Yorkers rallied today on the steps of City Hall to announce a ten-point plan to address the recent deaths in New York City…
NYCLU and BxD win motion ordering ICE to comply with prior settlement New York, NY – A federal judge in the Southern District of New York has ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to comply with a prior settlement requiring ICE’s New York agents to give everyone they arrest a fair chance at release…
Policy Reversal on Dispensary Distancing Threatens to Destroy Livelihoods and Dismantle Equity Goals NEW YORK, NY – The Bronx Cannabis Hub today condemned the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) for its abrupt and destructive reversal of the long-defended standard for measuring distance between cannabis dispensaries and schools. The policy change threatens the viability of nearly 200…
Bronx, NY – On Sunday, July 20, The Bronx Defenders and members of ALAA-UAW Local 2325 within the organization reached a tentative contracting deal on wages and benefits. As of Monday, July 21, union members at The Bronx Defenders will return to work. A formal vote by union members is pending. Juval O. Scott, Executive…
Bronx, NY – Juval O. Scott, Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders, issued the following statement following the organization’s local union chapter’s decision to strike: “As public defenders in the Bronx, we defend nearly 20,000 people every year from incarceration, eviction, family separation, and deportation in one of the most policed, surveilled, and under-resourced counties…
Bronx, NY – The Bronx Defenders and the Bronx Leadership & Organizing Center (BLOC) issued the following statement in response to the Rent Guidelines Board’s vote on Monday to increase rents for rent-stabilized New Yorkers: “For the fourth year in a row, Mayor Adams’ appointees to the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) voted to raise rents…
(New York, NY) — The Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, and New York County Defender Services— represented by pro bono counsel Selendy Gay PLLC — commend Monday’s New York State Supreme Court’s decision affirming the City Council’s authority to pass and implement Local Law 42 of 2024 (LL42), which bans…
BRONX, NY — On Tuesday night, a standing-room-only crowd at The Bronx Museum of the Arts witnessed something rare: a stage filled with young people leading a conversation about what it means to grow up in the crosshairs of broken systems—and surviving. The event marked the launch of The Bronx Writes Back: The Cradle to…
Bronx, NY – The Bronx Defenders commends the New York State Assembly for its passage of two crucial pieces of legislation this session: the Promoting Pre-Trial (PromPT) Stability Act and the Right to Remain Silent Act. We are especially grateful to Assemblymember Amanda Septimo for her leadership in sponsoring the PromPT Stability Act (A.6455), a…
Bronx, NY – Today, the New York State Legislature officially ended its current legislative session. And while it took an important step toward justice by passing the Anti-Harassment in Reporting Act – a bill that ends anonymous reporting to government agencies, which if signed into law, will protect thousands of families from the threat of family surveillance…
Albany, New York — As the state legislative session came to a close, leaders faced an urgent choice: put their words condemning the federal administration’s onslaught against immigrant New Yorkers into action, or let their talk be just that — talk. By failing to pass the New York For All Act, they chose the latter,…
The Bronx, NY – Today, The Bronx Defenders released a report detailing how New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) destroys Black and Latine families in the Bronx through its dangerous reliance on racist practices, with the severest life-altering consequences for the very children it claims to protect. Through in-depth stories from dozens of…
Black Birthing People Face A Mortality Rate More Than Four Times Higher Than White Counterparts in NYS Seeking informed consent improves maternal and infant health by establishing trust and transparency between pregnant people and their health care providers, which is essential for high-quality, patient-centered care Albany, NY — On Tuesday, May 13, a diverse coalition…
(NEW YORK, NY) – A coalition of New York City public defender offices, immigrant and civil rights organizations, other advocacy groups, and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams filed a joint amicus brief today in support of the New York City Council’s lawsuit challenging the Adams Administration’s Executive Order 50, which would allow U.S….
Contact: Anthony Chiarito, achiarito@bronxdefenders.org Albany, NY – The Alliance to Protect Kalief’s Law, a statewide coalition of impacted New Yorkers, public defender offices, civil rights organizations, leading advocacy groups, clergy, labor, and many others, issued the following statement on discovery rollbacks included in New York’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget: “Since the 2019 discovery reforms took…
(NEW YORK, NY) – Today, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), The Legal Aid Society, The Bronx Defenders, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and the law firm Ballard Spahr filed a putative class-action complaint against the City of New York, challenging the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) racially disparate targeting, surveillance, and criminalization of tens of thousands of…
Thank you for your interest in our Technology Stack RFP. Below are responses to general questions submitted by interested vendors. Please note that detailed internal system information and environment specifics will only be shared with finalists as part of the next stage of the selection process. To Apply, Click link below: RFP: Managed IT Services…
Bronx, NY – At a press conference today in New York City, Governor Hochul again pushed for changes to New York’s discovery reforms, known as Kalief’s Law. This comes after a series of press conferences the past few days, including public appearances by the Governor in the media, and an ongoing budget negotiation process that…
Attorneys Also Call on Adams Administration to Immediately Rescind this Executive Order to Comply with NYC Sanctuary Laws and Due Process (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, New York County Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, and Queens Defenders issued formal notices invoking the constitutional rights of every client…
Bronx, NY—On Tuesday, the Adams administration issued an executive order establishing office space for Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Rikers Island, contravening longstanding city law. The order acknowledges that sanctuary law prevents ICE from carrying out the initiatives of federal immigration enforcement on Rikers and suggests that ICE’s activity on the island will be contained…
Please find a copy of the IT RFP below. The Bronx Defenders encourages applications from all vendors across the information technology community. Please note that proposals under this RFP are due no later than April 25, 2025. Please contact Jairo Santana, the RFP Coordinator, with any questions at (718) 838-7831 or via email at…