Category: Archive

South Bronx Podcast Series: Levele Pointer, “I felt totally violated”

Levele Pointer, South Bronx resident, member of the Bronx Defenders Organizing Project and a NYHRE peer educator, shares his stories of getting stopped and frisked in New York City. This is the first in a series of South Bronx stories about the harmful impact on individuals and communities of discriminatory police practices. Recording, editing, and […]

The Center for Holistic Defense Request for Proposals: Technical Assistance Project

The Center for Holistic Defense at The Bronx Defenders The 2013 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 fourth annual Technical Assistance Project Request For Proposals seeking applications from public defender […]

New York Times: In South Bronx, Legal Aid and Shoulders to Lean On

A sprawling, sunny room beckons invitingly with black couches and bright accent pillows for relaxing, bookshelves with novels to borrow for an hour or a week, a pair of children’s tables, outlets for recharging cellphones and free coffee. This is the newest hub for justice in the South Bronx: a public defenders’ office that looks […]

New York Law Journal: ‘Justice Campus’ Opens in the Bronx

The Bronx Defenders yesterday opened its new ‘Justice Campus’ at 360 E. 161st St., with Executive Director Robin Steinberg and Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. cutting the ribbon. The new offices, which were made from the renovation of two empty storefronts near the Hall of Justice, will allow the Bronx Defenders to better serve its […]

Reuters: Bronx man cannot be retried after mistrial

A Bronx man cannot be retried for selling drugs after his first case ended in a mistrial because the judge failed to consider less severe alternatives, a state appeals court ruled Thursday. The Appellate Division, First Department, found that double jeopardy precluded a second prosecution against Jamal Morris, who sought a writ prohibiting the Bronx […]

Kate Rubin in Huffington Post’s The Blog on “Bloomberg’s Rockefeller Legacy’

February 21, 2013 Mayor Bloomberg came out swinging at his final State of the City address last Thursday, recapping his achievements and defending his policy decisions. About the NYPD’s controversial stop-and-frisk program he said, “We have a responsibility to conduct them, and as long as I am mayor, we will not shirk from that responsibility.” […]

The Guardian: America’s bail system: one law for the rich, another for poor

If you’ve ever been arrested for a misdemeanor offense, like jumping a turnstile, smoking a joint, or protesting a cause in a way the authorities would rather you didn’t, then you’ll know that your best chance of avoiding jail has less to do with what you’ve done than if you can make bail. It’s no […]

New York Law Journal: Lippman Lauds Bronx Group’s Nonprofit Approach to Bail Defenders

Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman (See Profile) last week praised as a way “to take the profit motive out of bond making” the program of a Bronx legal assistance organization that used charitable contributions to keep its indigent clients out of jail as they awaited trial. Lippman’s endorsement came as The Bronx Defenders prepared to resume […]

Residents of East Harlem – Manhattan’s Most Stopped-and-Frisked Neighborhood

Residents Protest NYPD Practice, Call for City Council Passage of Community Safety Act Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito, advocates and New Yorkers call for end to abuse and harassment at “East Harlem Stand Up!” event New York – Hundreds of New Yorkers joined Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito, community organizations and advocates in East Harlem to protest […]