Category: In the News
Quartz: The case for Spanish-speaking courts in places like the Bronx—and all over the US
“Simply put, Spanish-speaking Americans rarely receive their constitutional right to a fair and speedy trial. ‘If we’re trying to have a fair justice system, then we need to make the justice system accessible to the constituents and make it reflect the community,’ Morales says.” In this interview with Quartz, Jodi Morales-Vargas, an attorney in our […]
BxD’s Sarah Deri Oshiro speaks with NY1 Noticias’ Pura Política
Sarah Deri Oshiro, managing director of our Immigration Practice speaks with NY1 Noticias about the urgent need for ICE to stop targeting New Yorkers who are seeking due process and for the New York State court system to prohibit ICE from entering our courthouses. Watch the interview here.
In Justice Today: NYPD Agrees To New Rules Limiting Its Seizures of New Yorkers’ Property
“The settlement has far-reaching reforms that will require the NYPD and the Bronx DA to make significant changes to the way they handle these processes. When someone is arrested, they’re supposed to get a voucher indicating what property has been taken. That wasn’t happening on a regular basis, and now as part of this settlement, […]
Teen Vogue: SNAP Benefits Are Important to Young People in the United States
“The proposed change is ill-informed, overly bureaucratic, and further punishes and stigmatizes low-income children, young people, and families who rely on this crucial nutrition assistance. Working with thousands in the Bronx community every year, we know how difficult it already is to qualify for and maintain SNAP benefits, due to highly restrictive eligibility requirements. These […]
New York Law Journal: Accord Struck in Suit Over NYPD Withholding of Seized Property
“The New York City government has reached a settlement with plaintiffs attorneys in a suit challenging the police department’s retention of seized cash and property in criminal cases in which the city has agreed to implement a set of reforms.” The New York Law Journal covers our recent settlement in Encarnacion v. City of New […]
Patch: NYPD Ordered To Make Retrieving Phones, Cash After Arrests Easier
“This dysfunctional and unconstitutional practice disproportionately harms the low-income communities that are targeted by broken windows policing and least able to afford these costly consequences.” Niji Jain, an attorney in our Impact Litigation Practice discusses how our settlement in Encarnacion v. City of New York will ensure that New Yorkers who have been arrested will no longer […]
Wall Street Journal: NYPD Required To Return Seized Items Faster
Niji Jain, our Impact Litigation Attorney, on The Bronx Defenders’ settlement of a federal lawsuit claiming the NYPD unconstitutionally keeps money and other property long after a case is resolved. The lawsuit was initially filed to challenge the NYPD’s unconstitutional retention of property after a case is closed. The terms of this settlement, however, extend […]
amNewYork: Justine Olderman is defending the Bronx
“Our entire model is designed around the intersection of people’s involvement in various justice systems. Let’s say you were held in on bail. What are the implications in terms of your housing, your employment, your custody of your children, your immigration status? We do all of it. We follow the client wherever the client goes.” […]
WNYC: Racial Disparities Persist in Who’s Arrested for Pot Possession
“We know that these [marijuana] arrests are really harmful and destructive to our clients, their families and their communities,” said Scott Levy, Special Counsel to BxD’s Criminal Defense Practice, noting that most of his clients are black and Latino males. “A single arrest for this can disrupt a job, a living situation, child care arrangements. […]
The Daily Record: County’s grant rejection generates criticism
“Holistic lawyers and social workers don’t intimidate child witnesses, but work collaboratively with parents to strengthen and stabilize their families. They help inform the child welfare investigative process, not impede it.” Emma Ketteringham, Managing Director of the Family Defense Practice, wrote a joint letter to the editor of The Daily Record responding to Monroe County’s […]