Author: BXD
Teen Vogue: SNAP Benefits Are Important to Young People in the United States
“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 […]
New York Law Journal: Accord Struck in Suit Over NYPD Withholding of Seized Property
“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 […]
Patch: NYPD Ordered To Make Retrieving Phones, Cash After Arrests Easier
“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 […]
Wall Street Journal: NYPD Required To Return Seized Items Faster
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 […]
The Bronx Defenders Secures Settlement Ending the NYPD’s Unconstitutional Practice of Keeping Money and Property Seized During Arrests
**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 […]
The Bronx Defenders and Legal Aid Issue a Joint Statement on Bronx ICE Courthouse Arrest
***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 […]
Police Brutality Community Forum
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 […]
amNewYork: Justine Olderman is defending the Bronx
“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.” […]
WNYC: Racial Disparities Persist in Who’s Arrested for Pot Possession
“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. […]
The Bronx Defenders Responds to White House Immigration Proposal
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 […]