Author: BXD
Huffington Post: Prisoners’ Rights Advocates React To Retirement Of Rikers Official Who Oversaw Violent Facility
NEW YORK — Prisoners’ rights advocates and lawmakers on Tuesday welcomed the news that the top uniformed official at New York City’s Department of Correction, who has been accused of turning a blind eye to rampant violence in a Rikers Island juvenile detention facility, is stepping down. Chief of Department William Clemons, who climbed to […]
Holistic Defense highlighted in recent report commissioned by Canada’s Department of Justice
The Bronx Defenders’ Holistic Defense model was recently highlighted in an extensive report commissioned by the Department of Justice Canada. The report, Maximizing the Federal Investment in Criminal Legal Aid, was prepared by Prairie Research Associates and documents innovations, best practices, and efficiencies in criminal legal aid in Canada and abroad. This report, one of […]
Thurston Talk: Thurston County Wins Grant from Center for Holistic Defense
The county’s Director of the Office of Assigned Counsel and a handful of staff members traveled to New York City last week thanks to a technical assistance grant from the Center for Holistic Defense. Thurston County’s Office of Assigned Counsel is one of only four teams in the nation to win a 2014-2015 technical assistance […]
The Epoch Times: Help, Not Incarceration
NEW YORK—Anthony Cruz is a different man now that he has been locked up several times. Before serving his 10-year sentence in New York state prisons for manslaughter in the first degree he was diagnosed with adjustment disorder and depression, among other mental health conditions. Cruz spent a total of three years in solitary confinement, […]
The Bronx Defenders presented at New York State Defenders Association conference on veterans last week
Last Friday, October 17th, Bronx Defenders Civil Action Attorney Christa Douaihy, Criminal Defense Attorney Amalea Smirniotopoulos, and Family Defense Defense Attorney Lauren Teichner all presented at the New York State Defenders Association “Representing Veterans in New York Courts” conference in Albany. Their presentation, “Holistic Defense: Representing Veterans in Family Court and Beyond,” covered a range of topics […]
Le Nouvel Observateur: Dans L’enfer de Rikers Island
“Several were younger than me, I can’t imagine myself in their places. These youths are completely dehumanized, they are called ‘bing monsters.’ It’s terrible to see that it is considered normal to brutalize youths this young.” – Skylar Albertson, Assistant to the Director, The Bronx Defenders “We have paid bail for 140 people, who were […]
Emma Ketteringham and Elizabeth Keeney to present at 10th National Harm Reduction Conference this Thursday
This Thursday, October 23rd, Emma Ketteringam, Managing Director of the Family Defense Practice, and Elizabeth Keeney, Managing Director of Social Work will be presenting at the 10th National Harm Reduction Conference in Baltimore, MD. The biannual conference, sponsored and organized by the Harm Reduction Coalition, is the only multidisciplinary gathering dedicated to improving the health and well-being of […]
Village Voice: How Chuck Schumer’s New Legislation Equates Climbing a Bridge to These Violent Crimes
This week, Senator Charles Schumer proposed making trespassing on “critical infrastructure” — bridges, buildings, and the like — a federal offense, punishable by up to five years in prison. He pointed to the pair of German artists who this summer allegedly scaled the Brooklyn Bridge and replaced its American flags with white flags; a Russian […]
Genia Blaser Testifies at New York City Council’s Committee on Immigration Hearing
“Every day, advocates at our office witness firsthand how the promise of due process held out by the 5th Amendment is unrealized by our non-citizen clients solely because of immigration status. Whenever ICE has lodged a detainer against a non-citizen client and the client’s criminal case carries potential immigration consequences, that client is unable to […]
Dave Casellas testifies about solitary confinement at NYC Council Hearing
Written Comments of The Bronx Defenders New York City Council Joint Meeting of the Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services and the Committee on Juvenile Justice Good afternoon. My name is Dave Casellas, and I work as a client coordinator at The Bronx Defenders. In this role, I help Bronx Defenders clients and their families […]