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The Bronx Defenders Criminal Defense

The Bronx Defenders releases its report “Voices From the Box: Solitary Confinement at Rikers Island”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 12, 2014 Contact: Skylar Albertson, The Bronx Defenders, (347) 842-1215, SkylarA@bronxdefenders.org Voices From the Box: Solitary Confinement at Rikers Island New York – The Bronx Defenders released a report summarizing the experiences of 59 current and former clients who were subjected to extreme isolation in solitary confinement at Rikers Island. The…

The Christian Science Monitor: Retraining the NYPD after chokehold death

NEW YORK — The New York City Police Department outlined a new tactical training program on Monday as the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio continues its efforts to mend the fractured relationship between the nation’s largest police force and the city’s minority communities. Speaking before the New York City Council Monday morning, police Commissioner…

The Bronx Defenders Welcomes Its 2014 Training Teams and New Hires!

The Bronx Defenders is proud to announce the start of its 2014 Training Teams as well as many new hires throughout the office. For the first time ever, The Bronx Defenders will welcome two training teams to the office. Throughout the next twelve months, our new attorneys will receive intensive training in holistic defense, working…

The Intercept: America Without the Makeup: Artez Hurston’s Ferguson

A highlight of the challenging and important work that the Arch City Defenders, one of The Bronx Defenders Center for Holistic Defense Training and Technical Assistance Sites, is doing in Missouri: Artez Hurston is curled up on a concrete bench in a Missouri jail cell, fast asleep. He snoozes peacefully, despite the fact that just…

Solidarity at the August 23rd ‘March for Justice’ on Staten Island

The Bronx Defenders was proud to be a part of the March for Justice on Staten Island last weekend to peacefully call for justice for Eric Garner, Ramarley Graham, and others who have been killed and/or brutalized by NYPD officers with little to no accountability or consequences for the involved police officers. Thousands joined the march through…

Capital New York: Local Ferguson reverberation

Capital New York’s ‘Playbook’ highlights statement from Justine Olderman, Managing Director of The Bronx Defenders Criminal Practice as its “Quote of the Day” “The NYPD trots out this justification that they’re arresting people for minor infractions as a way of keeping violent crime down, and yet there is no evidence to show that there’s any correlation…

El Diario: Exigen que se termine el maltrato de reos en las cárceles de NY

Activistas y concejales municipales exigieron a viva voz reformas en las prisiones de la ciudad. El grupo se congregó el lunes en las escalinatas de la alcaldía en donde, de paso, se entregaron más detalles de un proyecto de ley que quiere que los Departamentos de Correccionales y de Salud publiquen información detallada sobre los…

New York Daily News: EXCLUSIVE: Arrests for transit fare evasion surge in recent years, putting it among city’s top offenses leading to jail: Daily News analysis

Fare-beating arrests have increased 69% — from 14,681 in 2008 to 24,747 in 2013 — and are on pace to be slightly higher this year. Nearly 37,500 people have gotten sentences for the $2.50 crime that involved incarceration, including time-served, and 1,802 of those people were minors, according to data obtained by the Daily News….

Bronx Defenders Social Workers Represent Holistic Defense at This Year’s National Organization of Forensic Social Work Conference

Last month, The National Organization of Forensic Social Work (NOFSW) held its annual conference, which took place this year in New York at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus. Several social workers and one attorney from The Bronx Defenders attended the conference, including four staff members who presented. Participation in the conference not only presented an exciting learning and…

The Bronx Defenders releases updated Consequences of Criminal Proceedings in New York State

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 11, 2014 Contact: Molly Kovel, The Bronx Defenders, 718-508-3421 or MollyK@bronxdefenders.org THE CONSEQUENCES OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS IN NEW YORK STATE, A Comprehensively Updated Guide for Criminal Defense Attorneys, Civil Legal Services Attorneys, and Other Reentry Advocates New York – Today, The Bronx Defenders released an expansive update to our landmark manual detailing…

Spotlight on The Bronx Defenders’ new Prostitution Conviction Vacature Project

Every year in New York City, thousands of people who are victims of sex trafficking are arrested, charged, and ultimately convicted of prostitution-related offenses. Due to New York City’s zero-tolerance policing, many of these people are arrested multiple times and face repeated prosecutions. Convictions for prostitution carry an enormous stigma and make it extremely difficult…

The Bronx Defenders joined partners at City Hall today to demand police accountability

“There is no excuse for an illegal chokehold by the NYPD. We need policing FOR our communities, not against them.” -Donna Lieberman, Executive Director, New York Civil Liberties Union Earlier today, The Bronx Defenders rallied together with community allies at a press conference hosted by Communities United for Police Reform at City Hall to demand accountability for…

NBC 4 New York: Low-Level Suspects Seriously Hurt

An investigation by NBC 4 New York’s partners at WNYC shows that it’s not uncommon for low-level arrests to spiral dangerously out of control – in some cases leaving people accused of minor offenses seriously hurt. Chris Glorioso reports. The Bronx Defenders Robin Steinberg comments on disproportionate use of force in low-level arrests in New York City. To…

WNYC: When ‘Broken Windows’ Leads to Busted Heads

WNYC’s Robert Lewis investigates the NYPD’s embrace of the “broken windows” theory in the wake of the recent death of Staten Island resident Eric Garner. The Bronx Defenders Executive Director Robin Steinberg is interviewed to shed light on these issues. Many across New York are still struggling to understand how Eric Garner — the Staten Island…

HuffPost Live: Kumar Rao interviewed on death of Eric Garner and police brutality

“We need to hold the police department as a whole accountable for the culture that allows for police officers to regularly profile people of color, target them, [and] use physical force against them.” The Bronx Defenders Criminal Defense Attorney and Director of Strategic Initiatives Kumar Rao appeared on HuffPost Live last night, hosted by Ricky…

The New York Times: Ill and in Solitary at Rikers

Read The Bronx Defenders’ Skylar Albertson’s “Letter to Editor” published in The New York Times in response to their recent article on mental illness among inmates at Rikers Island: To the Editor: “Where Mental Illness Meets Brutality in Jail” (front page, July 14) paints a horrifying but accurate picture of the abuse that mentally ill…

A Celebration of Families!

Last week we hosted our annual Celebration of Families night to honor our clients who have been reunited with their children after arduous battles in Bronx Family Court. The evening provided our clients and their families an opportunity to share their stories, connect with one another, and take a moment to celebrate their perseverance after a difficult and…