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Redefining public defense.

The Bronx Defenders Criminal Defense

New York Daily News: NYC Correction Department officials brushed off concerns about recorded jailhouse calls between inmates and legal advisers

“[We are calling] for an immediate end to all recording of phone calls made by people incarcerated in New York City jails,” the Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, The Legal Aid Society, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, New York County Defender Services, and Queens Defenders said in a joint statement.  Read the full article…

New York Daily News: Over 1,500 private phone calls between NYC jail inmates and legal advisers wrongly recorded, audits show

“Criminal defendants have a constitutional right to lawyers and legal counsel — and New York law says their communications with lawyers and others helping their cases is strictly confidential. The Correction Department first heard about the system screw up in December when several Bronx defenders flagged the issue, sources said. The department requested an audit…

Bronx Defenders Statement on Mayor de Blasio’s Police Reform Plan

NEW YORK – Mayor de Blasio today released a proposed police ‘reform and reinvention’ plan for New York City as mandated by Governor Cuomo’s executive order 203. Justine Olderman, Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders, issued the following response: “While the Mayor claims that this plan was developed with community input, that is not the…

Letter Re: Public Comment on the NYPD’s Draft Impact & Use Policies for the Criminal Group Database and Social Network Analysis Tools

Sent via Email  The New York City Police Department   1 Police Plaza New York, NY 10038 postact@nypd.org  Re: Public Comment on the NYPD’s Draft Impact & Use Policies for the   Criminal Group Database and Social Network Analysis Tools  To Whom It May Concern,   On behalf of The Bronx Defenders (“BxD”), Center for Constitutional Rights (“CCR”), …

Public Defenders, Advocates Ask Court to Force State to Offer Vaccine to Incarcerated People Immediately

Public Defenders, Advocates Ask Court to Force State to Offer Vaccine to Incarcerated People Immediately  February 25, 2021 CONTACT Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (smccann@ndsny.org) Arianna Fishman, New York Civil Liberties Union (afishman@nyclu.org) Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society (rhaskins@legal-aid.org) Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders (rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org) Daniel Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services (Dball@bds.org)  (NEW…

City & State: Can legalizing pot help communities heal?

“Despite roughly equal usage of marijuana among racial groups, data has shown that Black and Latino men get arrested and ticketed for marijuana offenses at eight times the rate of white men in New York City, even as enforcement has declined under Mayor Bill de Blasio. This policing disparity exists in communities throughout the state. And the existing data likely…

Gothamist: Cuomo And State Democrats Still At Odds Over How To Legalize Marijuana

“Eli Northrup, an attorney with the Bronx Defenders, said the governor’s proposal also doesn’t go far enough to remove criminal penalties for marijuana-related offenses and in some cases criminalizes them further. “Right now, it’s a misdemeanor to sell a small amount of marijuana to someone under the age of 21, but the governor’s proposal would…

Manhattan Times: New town halls focus on police reform

“The planned town halls will culminate in a report that will be submitted to the New York City Council in March to inform the Council’s consideration of the reform proposal. Co-sponsors involved in the series of forums include the Anti-Violence Project, The Audre Lorde Project, The Bronx Defenders, Center for Constitutional Rights, New York Civil…

Manhattan Times: New town halls focus on police reform

“The planned town halls will culminate in a report that will be submitted to the New York City Council in March to inform the Council’s consideration of the reform proposal. Co-sponsors involved in the series of forums include the Anti-Violence Project, The Audre Lorde Project, The Bronx Defenders, Center for Constitutional Rights, New York Civil…

MarketWatch: How soon will New York vaccinate its prisoners?

“On Thursday, Fischer’s organization, joined by the Legal Aid Society, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Bronx Defenders and Brooklyn Defender Services, filed a lawsuit at the state Supreme Court in the Bronx, demanding that vaccines be provided immediately to everyone behind bars. “Beyond politics and an animus toward incarcerated people,” Fischer said, “there’s…

MarketWatch: How soon will New York vaccinate its prisoners?

“On Thursday, Fischer’s organization, joined by the Legal Aid Society, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Bronx Defenders and Brooklyn Defender Services, filed a lawsuit at the state Supreme Court in the Bronx, demanding that vaccines be provided immediately to everyone behind bars. “Beyond politics and an animus toward incarcerated people,” Fischer said, “there’s…

Democrat & Chronicle: Advocates call for the Raise the Lower Age Act

“The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, Bronx Defenders, Queens Defenders and Neighborhood Defenders of Harlem sent a letter to Governor Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, calling for legislation to raise the minimum age of delinquency jurisdiction from 7 to 12, thus ending the arrest and subsequent prosecution of children…

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…

Press Release: Marijuana Legalization Advocates Hold Lobby Day to Urge Lawmakers to Center Racial & Economic Justice by Passing MRTA

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***  Marijuana Legalization Advocates Hold Lobby Day to Urge Lawmakers to Center Racial & Economic Justice by Passing MRTA February 4, 2021  CONTACT Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders (RKarerat@bronxdefenders.org) (NEW YORK, NY) – Advocates from across New York State are holding a virtual Lobby Day today to call on the legislature and Gov….

Demand Letter Re: Vaccination of People Held in Prisons and Jails

  Via e-mail  January 27, 2021  The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of the State of New York New York State Capitol Building Albany, New York 12224   Re: Vaccination of People Held in Prisons and Jails  Dear Governor Cuomo:  As science and experience have both made clear, jails and prisons perpetuate the COVID-19 pandemic,  both…