Category: Archive

Olderman Steps Into Executive Director Position for Bronx Defenders

The New York Law Journal covers The Bronx Defenders’ exciting announcement that Justine Olderman, an experienced attorney with 17 years at the organization and a leader in the field of public defense, has been selected to take the helm as our Executive Director. “From staff attorney to managing director, I have been privileged to work […]

Pass the (Right) Right To Know Act

“The questions confronting the Committee and Council are simple: Should civilians be informed of their right to privacy when there is no legal basis to search them? And should civilians who have routine interactions with the police, whether pulled over while driving or questioned as victims or witnesses, be entitled to know who they are […]

BxD’s Scott Levy & Sarah Deri Oshiro speaks with BronxTalk

Scott Levy, Special Counsel to the Criminal Defense Practice and Sarah Deri Oshiro, Managing Director of the Immigration Practice sit down and speak with BronxTalk. Scott Levy discusses how to bring meaningful change to New York’s bail system: “The issue is that our bail statute is not used properly right now…If we started actually using […]

The Place Where One Was Born Cannot Determine Our Access to Courts

Powerful HuffPost op-ed by Luis Mancheno, an immigration defense attorney at The Bronx Defenders about ICE’s intrusive presence in the courts depriving people access to due process: “ICE needs to be stopped and it needs to be stopped today…It is imperative that Chief Judge Janet DiFiore takes all the necessary steps to stop federal immigration […]

Rise Magazine: ‘Poor’ Parenting— When poverty is confused with neglect

Erin Cloud, the supervising attorney for our Family Defense Practice, and Dinah Adames-Ortiz, our parent advocate, talk about how poverty is an incriminating factor against parents just trying to raise their children. “Every aspect of poor families’ lives is subject to supervision. Shelters have mandated reporters. HRA workers are mandated reporters. Public hospitals report overwhelmingly […]

BxD’s Luis Mancheno speaks with NY1 Noticias’ Pura Política

Luis Mancheno, an immigration defense attorney at The Bronx Defenders speaks with NY1 Noticias’ Pura Política about the harmful impacts of ending Temporary Protected Status for Nicaraguans and Hondurans as well as the Diversity Visa Lottery. To watch the interview, click here.

The truth is, ‘broken windows’ policing incentivizes lies

“The lies officers tell to justify the unlawful stops, searches and questioning are a natural byproduct of this policing strategy. Once we see the root of the problem, the answer becomes obvious: The NYPD leadership needs to stop holding on to the myth that ‘broken windows’ policing is necessary to keep New York City safe […]

When Race Tips the Scales in Plea Bargaining

“If there are racial disparities in pleas in misdemeanor cases that lead to worse punishment of black people, it means a significant proportion of our criminal justice system is meting out punishment in a racially-biased manner.” —BxD’s Jenn Rolnick Borchetta and Alice Fontier on the stark racial disparities in plea bargaining that have devastating impacts […]

Bad Bail Practices and Immigration Policy Led To My Client’s Death At Rikers

Powerful op-ed by BxD’s Anisha Gupta for The Marshall Project on the death of her client Selmin Feratovic, who had been incarcerated for almost seven months on Rikers Island but had not been convicted of a single crime: “Selmin was killed by a system that overcharged him, incarcerated him, ignored him, and ultimately failed to protect […]