Category: Archive
Salon: “I can’t breathe!” Police overreach, Eric Garner and the chokehold of racism
Read Bronx Defenders Summer Legal Intern Shaun Ossei-Owusu’s powerful commentary on police brutality in New York City, responding to the recent death of Staten Island resident Eric Garner at the hands of the NYPD. Another unarmed man dies after cops take it too far. Inside the chokehold’s sordid, deadly history. The streets, social media, and the […]
The New York Times: Ill and in Solitary at Rikers
Read The Bronx Defenders’ Skylar Albertson’s “Letter to Editor” published in The New York Times in response to their recent article on mental illness among inmates at Rikers Island: To the Editor: “Where Mental Illness Meets Brutality in Jail” (front page, July 14) paints a horrifying but accurate picture of the abuse that mentally ill […]
The 2014 Holistic Defense for Public Defender Offices Technical Assistance Project
The Center for Holistic Defense at The Bronx Defenders The 2014 Holistic Defense for Public Defender Offices Technical Assistance Project Request For Proposals The Center for Holistic Defense, a project of The Bronx Defenders, is pleased to announce the release of its fifth annual Technical Assistance Project Request For Proposals seeking applications from public defender […]
New York Daily News: Bronx Freedom Fund seeks to show other groups how to post bail for needy defendants
The difference between being saddled with a criminal record and keeping one’s profile clean often comes down to a person’s ability to come up with bail money, a new report from The Bronx Freedom Fund shows. The fund, launched in 2007 and reopened in October 2013, four years after a judge ordered it to cease […]
Rise Magazine: ‘I Feel Good that I Never Gave Up!’: At National Reunification Month events, parents reflect on the long road home
For June’s National Reunification Month, organizations around the country celebrated the perseverance and resilience of parents reunifying with children from foster care and of the professionals who support them. On June 13, the family defense organization The Bronx Defenders hosted a reunification celebration, with food, face painting, performances, and families coming together to celebrate the […]
New York Times: New York City Council Expected to Approve 2 Plans Aiding Immigrants
Building upon the pilot project implemented by The Bronx Defenders, together with Brooklyn Defender Services, over the past year, The New York City Council announces approval for renewed funding to provide legal representation to undocumented immigrants in New York City at Varick Street in Manhattan as well as in Newark and Elizabeth, N.J. A long-sought […]
A Celebration of Families!
Last week we hosted our annual Celebration of Families night to honor our clients who have been reunited with their children after arduous battles in Bronx Family Court. The evening provided our clients and their families an opportunity to share their stories, connect with one another, and take a moment to celebrate their perseverance after a difficult and […]
The Bronx Defenders’ Skylar Albertson Delivers Testimony at Solitary Confinement Hearing
On Thursday, June 12th, 2014, The Bronx Defenders’ Skylar Albertson delivered testimony at the Joint Meeting of the Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services and the Committee on Mental Health, Development Disability, Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Disability Services Solitary Confinement Hearing. Since January, Albertson and Social Work Intern Leah Baez have conducted 23 interviews with […]
The Bronx Defenders Joins Rally to Demand Justice in Housing Court!
The Bronx Defenders joined Council Member Mark Levine and the Coalition for Justice in Housing Court on the steps of City Hall on Thursday, June 11th, to rally for the “Right to Counsel” in Housing Court. A total of 246,864 New Yorkers were served with eviction papers in 2013. Nearly 99% of these tenants were […]
Annual Celebration of Families | June 13, 2014
On June 13, 2014, The Bronx Defenders will host our Fourth Annual Celebration of Families, honoring our clients who have reunited with their children after being separated by foster care. In the spirit of National Reunification Month, a time designated by the American Bar Association to reflect upon the innumerable value of reunifying fragmented families, the Celebration of Families is […]