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Redefining public defense.

The Bronx Defenders In the News

DocumentedNY: Cuomo Approves COVID-19 Vaccine for Food Delivery and Restaurant Workers

“The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services and The Bronx Defenders are demanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement release immigrant detainees following a U.S. Department of Homeland Security memo put out on Jan. 20. The memo demands ICE prioritize national security, then border security, then public safety when embarking on enforcement actions, including when deciding which…

City & State: Why Cuomo’s pandemic policies keep getting challenged in court

“This is just the latest lawsuit against Cuomo that has prompted an abrupt shift in his administration’s pandemic policies. While the lawsuit – which was filed on behalf of inmates by groups including the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, Bronx Defenders and the Legal Aid Society – is the first class action over vaccinations in…

City & State: The 2021 Nonprofit Power 100

“During Justine Olderman’s time in leadership roles at The Bronx Defenders, she has helped facilitate the expansion of its criminal practice, created an in-house forensic practice group and worked to promote changes to New York’s cash bail system. Under her watch, the legal aid organization has spent the past year pushing for COVID-19 vaccine access…

New York Daily News: N.Y. deprives city and state inmates of Covid-19 vaccine: suit

“Despite the fact that [the] petitioners face a heightened risk of contracting Covid-19 due to their congregate conditions of confinement, [state officials] have excluded them from access in their current vaccine distribution plan,” says the suit, which was brought by Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, The Bronx Defenders, The Legal Aid Society, the New York…

The City: After ‘Horrifying’ Rochester Arrest, City Advocates Call on Cuomo to Keep Kids Out of Cop Hands

“Following the release of body-camera footage that showed Rochester police pepper-spraying a handcuffed 9-year-old girl, New York City advocates are renewing a push to raise the minimum age of criminal prosecution statewide. In a letter sent to Governor Andrew Cuomo and Albany leaders on Wednesday, public defender groups from all five boroughs pushed for passage of legislation that would hike the…

The New York State Senate: Senate To Repeal ‘Walking While Trans’ Law

Deb Lolai, Supervising Attorney in the LGBTQ Defense Project at The Bronx Defenders, said, “We applaud the Senate’s passage of S1351, which will repeal New York’s ‘Walking While Trans’ law. This bill is a critical step toward eliminating enmeshed penalties — such as reduced access to employment, fewer housing options, and punitive immigration consequences —…

Human Rights Watch: An Innovative Approach to Justice for New York Police Violence

“The Bronx Defenders, a public legal defense organization representing 24 people alleging the New York Police Department (NYPD) committed abuses against them during protests last summer, are taking a different approach to achieving justice. Instead of suing the NYPD, as many other organizations and the New York State Attorney General have done, the Bronx Defenders asked the New York City Comptroller on Tuesday…

The Appeal: New Jersey Could Force Cuomo’s Hand On Pot Legalization

“Under Cuomo’s plan, while people 21 or older would be able to purchase marijuana, sales to people under the age of 21 would be classified as a felony. It is currently a misdemeanor to sell a small amount of marijuana to a person between 18 and 21 years old. Eli Northrup, a public defender and policy…

PIX 11: Bronx defenders call for reparations over ‘kettling’ arrests

“MOTT HAVEN, the Bronx — Lawyers representing protesters who were injured during a controversial police encounter between a group of Black Lives Matter demonstrators and the NYPD are calling for reparations. Human rights groups have called the confrontation a ‘planned assault.’” Read the full article here

Law360: Could 2021 Be The Year Of Civil Justice Reform?

“The pandemic has also revealed problems in the family law system, especially child protective services, said Erin Miles Cloud, a former family defense attorney with the Bronx Defenders who is now co-president of Movement for Family Power, an activist group seeking to shrink the child welfare system.” Read the full article here

Reason: Cuomo Seems Intent on Screwing up New York’s Marijuana Legalization

“The proposal also doesn’t authorize delivery or point-of-sale marijuana consumption but will leave it to regulators to develop new categories of licenses later on. More bad news about Cuomo’s plan came from public defender Eli Northrup of The Bronx Defenders. He noticed that Cuomo’s plan actually increases the criminal penalty for anybody caught selling marijuana to somebody…

Blackstar News: HRW: NY AG’s Lawsuit Against NYPD May Help Bring Accountability

“In September, Human Rights Watch published a 99-page report focused on one of the dozens of incidents covered in the lawsuit: the NYPD’s June 4 planned assault on protesters in Mott Haven, a low-income, majority Black and brown neighborhood in the South Bronx that has long experienced police brutality and systemic racism. A video produced by Human…

Human Rights Watch: NY Attorney General Sues Police for Violence Against Protesters

“In September, Human Rights Watch published a 99-page report focused on one of the dozens of incidents covered in the lawsuit: the NYPD’s June 4 planned assault on protesters in Mott Haven, a low-income, majority Black and brown neighborhood in the South Bronx that has long experienced police brutality and systemic racism. A video produced by Human Rights Watch…

Univision: Funcionarios y líderes políticos de Nueva York condenan los actos de violencia ocurridos en el Capitolio

“Legisladores como Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Nydia Velásquez y Ritchie Torres calificaron el ataque al Congreso de EEUU como indignante. Por su parte, Andrew Cuomo señaló que se trató de un “intento fallido de golpe de estado”, mientras que Bill de Blasio responsabilizó a Trump de lo ocurrido y de “atacar nuestra democracia”. Los neoyorquinos también han…

Rise Magazine: Parental Designation: A Way of Planning for the Expected and Unexpected

“Parental designation is a legal option in New York that allows a parent to designate someone you trust to temporarily take care of your child, while maintaining your parental rights and without ACS becoming involved. Here, Jessica Prince, Policy Counsel for the Family Defense Practice at The Bronx Defenders explains how parental designation works and why you…