Category: Archive

Sarah Deri Oshiro, Managing Director of the Immigration Practice, and immigration attorney Lauren Migliaccio speak with The Intercept on ICE’s recent adoption of call-in letters as a way to trap immigrants. We have witnessed firsthand how ICE is further exploiting the deep fear felt in immigrant communities by sending letters to people after they have […]

The Bronx Defenders filed a lawsuit 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. The class action was announced in a press release and covered by the publications: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New […]

“The reality is that when a problem has a white face, the government and law enforcement agencies are more likely to react sensibly to that problem. As white people make money from marijuana, black people languish in jail for smoking it.” The Bronx has one of the country’s highest rates of marijuana arrests. Every day, […]

“There was no psychological divider between the communities the organization was serving and the people who worked for the institution. And everything I discovered about The Bronx Defenders was consistent with that messaging to clients—we are here for you and with you.” Justine Olderman, Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders speaks with her Alma Mater, […]

“I’ve seen too many black mothers separated from their babies at birth. What’s even more concerning is that these calls largely revolve around issues of economic insecurity, such as lack of food and stable housing, rather than abuse.” Mandated reporting by health providers can disrupt the health and well being of black families, ultimately causing […]

“Most people think we won the stop-and-frisk case in 2013, when a federal court ruled the New York City Police Department’s use of the practice was unconstitutional. But ultimate victory depends on whether we reform the police practices that drove unlawful stops and arrests.” Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, Deputy Director of our Impact Litigation Practice, along […]

“When we listen to reporting in the media that tends to be pro-removal of children, parents are bad, black mothers are bad…you’re reading that more than you think. Pay attention and listen to it, and recognize the historical origins of that in this country. The quickness with which white women have told black and brown […]

“What we’re trying to do is redefine public defense and in doing so, transform the way that people are treated in our justice system…we go wherever the client goes and we defend that client by whatever means necessary.” Justine Olderman, Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders sits down with BronxNet Community Television’s “Today’s Verdict” with […]

“As a public defender, I have seen innocent people’s lives devastated by charges resulting from lies by police…But police do not go straight from the street to the witness stand.” In this USA Today op-ed, Supervising Criminal Defense attorney Michael Bloch calls for prosecutors, the gatekeepers who usher police through the criminal justice system, to […]

“Simply put, Spanish-speaking Americans rarely receive their constitutional right to a fair and speedy trial. ‘If we’re trying to have a fair justice system, then we need to make the justice system accessible to the constituents and make it reflect the community,’ Morales says.” In this interview with Quartz, Jodi Morales-Vargas, an attorney in our […]