Category: In the News

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 — […]

Politico: Public defenders threaten to sue Cuomo to allow vaccinations for prisoners

“Public defender groups are threatening to sue Gov. Andrew Cuomo if he does not allow prisoners to get the Covid-19 vaccine. The state has given the green light for correction officers to get the vaccine, but people locked up in state prisons and local jails are not eligible — even as the virus rages inside prisons.” Read the full […]

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 […]