News 12 The Bronx: The Bronx Defenders held a big block party…
From the courthouse, into the community, the Bronx Defenders held a big block party on Wednesday. Watch the full video here
The Marshall Project: Your Arrest Was Dismissed. But It’s Still In A Police Database
“The lawsuit, which in the coming weeks may be ruled a class-action on behalf of potentially tens of thousands of New Yorkers, comes just as a nonprofit research organization releases a 50-state report revealing that in 25 states, police are allowed to access sealed or expunged arrests—and then profile you based on these past allegations that no…
Delete Your Account: Holistic Defense
“This week, Roqayah and Kumars are joined by immigration attorney Sophia Gurulé who works for the non-profit legal advocacy group, The Bronx Defenders. Sophia has also participated in the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project in Dilley, Texas for which she helped provide legal services to asylum-seeking women and children. Sophia describes how the Bronx Defenders, which represents over 30,000…
Bronx Times: Bronx Defenders Host Summer Block Party
The Bronx Defenders hosted its annual summer block party on Wednesday, July 17 at Melrose and Courtlandt avenues. See full article here
In These Times: We Can’t Stop the Horrors of Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Unless We Reckon With Obama’s Role
“The criminalization of aid workers stems from the profound dehumanization of immigrants themselves. Sophia E. Gurulé, a staff attorney for the immigration practice of the Bronx Defenders, represents indigent people detained during their deportation proceedings. She tells In These Times that in September of 2018 she witnessed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attorney refer to a person…
North Jersey: First it was mumps. Now the air-conditioner breaks down at the Bergen County Jail
“Temperatures in Hackensack, where the jail is located, reached a high of 87 degrees on Tuesday The unbearable heat is the latest health issue at the jail. Last month, five cases of suspected mumps were reported inside the jail and the New Jersey Department of Health was notified.” Read full article here
WFUV: Around My Block: Community Organizer Sees Beauty of The Bronx
“Born and raised in the Bronx, Carmen Piñeiro now works as a community organizer to uplift her community. Her block is the entire Bronx community. Through events from lobby days to block parties at Bronx Defenders she creates lasting change in both legislation and human impact.” Listen to the whole podcast here
North Jersey: Another mumps case confirmed at the Bergen County Jail, quarantine extended
“We are deeply concerned that the mumps outbreak at Bergen County Jail has spread and that the quarantine has been extended until the end of the month,” the Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services and The Bronx Defenders said in a joint statement. “Given the jail’s failure to adequately address this public health crisis, we continue…
New York Daily News: Mumps quarantine extended in troubled ICE jail in Bergen County
“Amid deteriorating conditions at Bergen County Jail, we are appalled to learn about the indefinite extension of the mumps quarantine. We continue to be extremely concerned for the health and safety of our clients,” the New York Family Immigrant Unity Project said in a statement. The group provides public defenders to immigrants facing deportation.” Read…
The Hill: Removing children from their parents doesn’t just happen at the border
“In 2017, 10 percent of children were removed for inadequate housing, a number comparable or exceeding removal rates for physical or sexual abuse respectively. In fact, since 2009, removals based on inadequate housing having been steadily increasing. According to Emma Ketteringham, managing director of the family defense practice at Bronx Defenders in New York, Child Protective Services…
Bustle: LGBTQ Asylum Seekers Need Protection From Our Government, Not Hostility
“While there’s celebration this Pride Month over how far LGBTQ rights have come, it has been a terrible year nationally for those most marginalized. The Trump administration has attacked health care access for trans folks, refused to protect queer youth, and comfortably rubbed shoulders with dictators who dehumanize LGBTQ people. Under this administration, one of the most urgent…
The City: No Green Space In Sight At Bronx Youth Detention Center
“Justice watchdogs said the youths at the facility don’t have time to waste in getting access to the full expanse of open space, which before the construction project included a garden and even chickens. Robyn Goldberg of the Bronx Defenders remembers her clients participating in the gardening program at Horizon before renovations began — and…
New York Times: Final Push to Legalize Pot Fails in New York
“Activists opposed passage of the alternative marijuana bills on Wednesday, calling them half-measures that would not address years of harm to communities of color. A coalition of public defenders including The Legal Aid Society and the Bronx Defenders said in a statement that the decriminalization plan fell “disastrously short.” Read the full article here
New York Law Journal: Lawmakers Approve Bill to End ‘Gay Panic’ Defense, Cuomo Expected to Sign
“Defendants accused of murder in New York will no longer be able to plead those charges down to manslaughter by saying their actions were the result of an extreme emotional disturbance on discovering that someone is gay or transgender.” Read the full article here
Bronx 12 News: Bronx Defenders lauded for sticking up for LGBTQ rights
“The Bronx Defenders’ LGBTQ Defense Project is a team of advocates who provide specialized representation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members of the community in legal matters. A man, who identified himself as John, says the project saved his life. He says he escaped from Nigeria and came to the U.S. because he faced…
City Limits: “And Justice For All” Means Barring ICE from NYS Courthouses
“The “Protect Our Courts Act,” sponsored by Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages and Senator Brad Hoylman, is one way New York state can counterbalance these devastating consequences, and we have one day left in NY’s legislative session to help protect our non-citizen community members. Thomas R. Decker, field office director for Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) New…
The New York Times: Repeal the New York Loitering Law
“As lawyers at the Bronx Defenders, we see how the loitering law acts as an invitation to the police to abuse and target our clients for simply “walking while female” in certain neighborhoods. We have represented women who were arrested while walking to meet friends at a bar, waiting outside a store or walking home with diapers…
New York Law Journal: NY Policymakers Don’t Hold the NYPD Accountable
“New York policymakers have failed to hold the NYPD accountable for its numerous transgressions, despite the many horrific instances of police misconduct that have made local and national headlines for years. Even in cases where officers have repeatedly engaged in misconduct, and even while district attorneys keep lists of “bad cops” whose credibility is questionable,…
Filter Magazine: NYC Defenders: District Attorneys Breaking Their Promises to End Marijuana Prosecutions
“On June 11, New York City public defenders released data demonstrating that district attorneys are continuing to prosecute “low-level” marijuana offense cases—even though they have publicly declared that they will discontinue doing so. Nearly 1,200 cases were brought in the first five months of 2019, according to their analysis. A group of collaborating organizations—the Legal…
Crain’s New York Business: Spotlight on the Bronx
“We don’t just address the case, we look at the client and address all the drivers of their involvement with the legal system and the devastating consequences of that involvement,” says Justine Olderman, our Executive Director. “No matter the entry point we will be there at every point. These systems are super-intertwined.” See BxD featured here
New York Daily News: Stop the tide of deportations: A breakthrough program can stand up for New York’s immigrants
“The three NYIFUP providers in New York City — The Bronx Defenders, the Legal Aid Society and Brooklyn Defender Services — have requested additional funding from the city. They should get it; every additional dollar going to NYIFUP will ensure universal and effective representation for immigrants with a target on their back. Elected officials in…
Gothamist: How A Sealed Arrest Can Get You Arrested In New York
“’There are a lot of cases where people were arrested or faced prosecution, and they were innocent,’ said Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, from the Bronx Defenders. “We need to protect them, and we need to protect our values that people should be presumed innocent, and they shouldn’t face the consequences [of an allegation], unless it’s been…
Filter Magazine: Denial of Methadone Devastates Incarcerated People: What Hope?
“Rosie Russo, MSW, a social worker with the criminal defense practice of the Bronx Defenders, advocates for clients to receive methadone through the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation, which provides healthcare at Rikers. But that doesn’t work for some clients, who get transported upstate where there is no treatment. ‘If we have a client who is…
CNN: Prosecutors want to move Manafort to Rikers Island
“Violence comes in all forms, from other people who are incarcerated there to violence at the hands of corrections officers” – Alice Fontier, our Criminal Defense Managing Director. Watch the full video here
Manhattan Neighborhood Network: Raising The Bar: Justice Reform Part 2
The Bronx Defenders often see our low-income clients forced to plead guilty when they cannot afford to pay cash bail. Karume James, our Criminal Defense attorney, shares the difficult decisions they need to make when our criminal legal system cares more about profits than lives. Watch the full video here