Category: Press Statements
BxD Urges Mayor de Blasio to Reconsider Position on Exceptions to City-Funded Immigration Representation
May 4, 2017, New York – In response to the ongoing debate between Mayor de Blasio and Speaker Mark-Viverito regarding City funding for the New York Immigrant Family Project (NYIFUP), The Bronx Defenders, one of three NYIFUP providers, issued the following statement: “At a time when we should be radically reimagining what it means to be […]
BxD Testifies Before City Council Committees Regarding DOI Report on NYCHA Policy of Permanent Exclusion
On April 24, 2017, Runa Rajagopal, director of The Bronx Defenders’ Civil Action Practice, presented written and oral testimony before the New York City Council Committees on Public Housing and Oversight and Investigations regarding a new report by the New York City Department of Investigation’s (DOI) on the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) policy […]
The Trump Era Tests the True Power of Sanctuary Cities
Is the City of New York doing everything it can to ensure safety and due process for immigrant communities? In this interview with The New Yorker, BxD Managing Director, Justine Olderman had a simple answer: “Unless we take immediate steps to protect immigrants who seek redress in our city’s courts, we should stop calling ourselves […]
Bronx Defenders Asks NY Supreme Court to Compel NYPD to Produce Property Seizure Records
March 21, 2017, New York –The Bronx Defenders has asked the NY Supreme Court to compel the NYPD to appear at a hearing to explain its property seizure database and to produce internal records about policies and procedures involving millions of dollars in cash and property seized during arrests each year. The Bronx Defenders sued […]
BxD Applauds City Announcement of Right to Counsel in Housing Court
New York – The Bronx Defenders released the following statement in response to the Mayor and Council Speaker’s announcement they have agreed to create a universal right to counsel for low-income New Yorkers facing eviction. “We applaud Mayor de Blasio and the City Council for taking this historic step toward making NYC a more equitable […]
BxD Condemns Trump Immigration Orders, Recommits to Defending Bronx Immigrant Community
New York – The Bronx Defenders released the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s orders this week regarding new immigration policies: “The president’s actions this week threaten the well-being, safety, and rights of immigrant families in the Bronx and across the country. As an organization committed to serving one of New York City’s […]
Register now for the 2017 Defenders’ Academy: Spring Training!
From June 5 to June 10, The Bronx Defenders will be hosting its 2017 Defenders’ Academy: Spring Training program. Defenders’ Academy: Spring Training is a six-day intensive trial skills program for criminal, family, and civil defenders. Through the lens of a complex case problem, participants will receive training on voir dire, opening statements, direct examination, cross […]
NYC Public Defenders Submit Legal Brief in Invocation of Right to Counsel Case
New York – The Bronx Defenders submitted a friend-of-the court brief before the New York Court of Appeals, on behalf of itself and six other public defense providers in New York City, in a case involving the invocation of the right to counsel during police interrogations. The case, People v. Slocum, is headed to the […]
Public Defender Orgs Urge Speaker Mark-Viverito to Call for Vote on Right to Know Act
New York – Representatives from public defense providers in New York City gathered today on the steps of the New York City Hall to urge Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to call for a vote on the Right to Know Act after the legislation has remained stalled in the Committee on Public Safety for over two years. The […]
The Bronx Defenders Issues Statement in Response to Police Killing of 66-Year-Old Bronx Resident
New York City – In response to the fatal police shooting of a 66-year-old Bronx resident last night, The Bronx Defenders issued the following statement: “Last night’s police killing of Deborah Danner, a 66-year-old woman from the South Bronx, is the latest, tragic reminder that police officers are simply ill equipped to deescalate encounters with people […]