Category: In the News
ABC News: Detained immigrants demand release from New Jersey jail due to heat wave
“Attorneys for immigrants detained at the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack are demanding they be released amid the heat wave and reports of broken air conditioning at the Hackensack facility, and Eyewitness News took an exclusive tour of the jail to check on conditions. The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, and the Bronx Defenders […]
Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Public defenders denied in bid to halt non-emergency in-person court proceedings amid COVID-19
“Put plainly: OCA’s plan puts our clients — mostly low-income New Yorkers of color — at enormous risk for no compelling reason,” said the statement. “We are disappointed that the Southern District of New York allowed OCA to continue down this reckless road.” The six legal aid groups involved in the lawsuit were The Legal […]
Document Journal: A new law seeks to expose the NYPD’s secret surveillance technology
“As surveillance technology evolves, New Yorkers will have to balance surveillance power with personal freedoms. In addition to license plate readers, x-ray vans, and stingrays, the NYPD now has a unit dedicated to operating face recognition systems—but it isn’t just being used in the fight against terrorism. “There’s been an explosion in face recognition in the […]
New York Law Journal: Public Defenders Blast Ruling Allowing In-Person New York City Criminal Court Appearances
“A group of New York City public defender organizations are opposing a federal judge’s ruling Tuesday to allow state courts to reopen for in-person proceedings, saying the decision put their clients at “enormous risk” during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Read the full article here
1010 Wins: NYPD has access to millions of arrest records meant to be sealed: report
“NYPD officers can access those records via their smartphones, according to the outlet. Legally, the department is supposed to either get rid of arrest records or return them if a person’s case is “terminated in their favor,” the outlet reported. “The court already said the NYPD isn’t allowed to use these documents and share them […]
Patch: Reports Of AC Failure At Bergen County Jail As Heat Wave Hits NJ
“The Bergen County Sheriff’s Department reports that temperatures inside the Bergen County jail are currently between 70 and 73 degrees. A group of immigration attorneys say that’s a lie. As temperatures touch the mid-90s, the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project and their legal providers continue to call for the release of their clients held […]
Lexology: Public Defenders Sue to Stop In-Court Appearances During COVID
“It is no secret that the COVID crisis poses a risk to criminal defendants, particularly those who are incarcerated or come from at-risk groups. It is also no secret that the New York’s Office of Court Administration (the “OCA”) has been pushing hard to “return to normalcy,” in part to make sure that cases of […]
Law360: Federal Judge Axes Suit Over NY Courts Reopening Plan
“The Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services, Legal Aid Society, New York County Defender Services, Neighborhood Service of Harlem and Queens Defenders had argued the courts’ decision was “rushed” and has led to “chaotic” implementation of policies that violate federal civil rights protections including the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. While Judge Carter denied […]
NJ.com: ICE detainees should be released because air conditioning is failing in N.J. jail, attorneys say
“A group of attorneys are demanding the release of detained immigrants from the Bergen County jail due to the reports of broken air conditioning systems over the weekend, as the state is in the middle of heat wave and a coronavirus pandemic. The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project sent a letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after […]
UPenn Law: Fewer Stays, Fewer Days: The Bronx Defenders and How Holistic Defense Reduces Mass Incarceration
“In 2019, the Harvard Law Review published a quantitative study by researchers from the RAND Corporation and Penn Law’s Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice entitled “The Effects of Holistic Defense on Criminal Justice Outcomes.” They compared with the traditional model of public defense with the holistic model practiced by the Bronx Defenders […]