fbpx
Redefining public defense.

The Bronx Defenders Holistic Defense

Joint Statement in Response to Council Speaker Adrienne Adams State of the City Address Remarks on Funding for Public Defender, Civil Legal Services Organizations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEW YORK — The Legal Aid Society, New York County Defender Services, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, Queens Defenders, Legal Services NYC, Mobilization for Justice, New York Legal Assistance Group, Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A, Urban Justice Center, NMIC and CAMBA Legal Services, TakeRoot Justice released the…

UPenn Law: Fewer Stays, Fewer Days: The Bronx Defenders and How Holistic Defense Reduces Mass Incarceration

“In 2019, the Harvard Law Review published a quantitative study by researchers from the RAND Corporation and Penn Law’s Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice entitled “The Effects of Holistic Defense on Criminal Justice Outcomes.” They compared with the traditional model of public defense with the holistic model practiced by the Bronx Defenders…

City & State: The 2019 Nonprofit Power 100

“Justine Olderman has worked her way up at The Bronx Defenders since joining as a staff attorney in 2000. She served as managing attorney of the criminal defense practice – where she oversaw an expansion that more than doubled the practice’s caseload – before becoming the public defender nonprofit’s first managing director. Now as executive…

The Crime Report: How Do Prosecutors (and the Rest of Us) Get Sentencing So Wrong?

“And all of these players are buffeted simultaneously by external environmental factors: caseloads rise, budgets fall, treatment programs close, spasmodic media pressure ratchets up, options narrow. Sentences may be driven by prosecutors, but they are also influenced by defenders. For example, a recent study makes clear that the Bronx Defenders’ self-consciously “holistic” approach managed to significantly bend…

New York Women’s Foundation: The Justice Fund Grantee Partners

“As public defenders representing more than 20,000 people a year in the criminal legal system, we understand the importance of closing Rikers,” said Justine Olderman, Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders. “But closing Rikers will not, by itself, result in a fairer pre-trial system. With support from the New York Women’s Foundation, we are harnessing…

Santa Barbara Independent: Defending Santa Barbara’s Most Vulnerable

“Holistic Defense is making a tangible difference in the lives of clients and changing the way they perceive the criminal justice system. These were some of the goals in mind when FSA and OPD applied for a funding grant in 2017 to launch the pilot program. The program is one of only a handful in…

Medium: What We Mean When We Say #AbolishBigData2019

“In whatever form it might take, we orient our future work toward the commitment that data must be used to measure systems, not people.” Rebecca Widom, our Chief Data Scientist, presented at the University of California Irvine’s two-day workshop “Datafication and Community Activism: Redrawing the Boundaries of Research” on how the important work of data…

Investigative Post: A changing tide on license suspensions

The Bronx Defenders is part of a coalition with the Fines and Fees Justice Center and National Center for Law and Economic Justice to advocate for the end of suspensions over unpaid traffic fines. Traffic enforcement is disproportionately concentrated in low-income black and Latino neighborhoods, where residents often have difficulty paying tickets. New York is one of at least…

Bronx Justice News: District Attorney Darcel Clark On Criminal Justice Reform Legislation: “The Question Is Not If But How We Implement”

“DA Clark has rightly acknowledged the inevitability of discovery, bail, and speedy trial reform in New York. But acknowledgement of inevitability is not enough. The time for delay and foot-dragging is over,” The Bronx Defenders said in a statement. “Bronx-residents–particularly those from communities of color–have waited long enough for a criminal legal system that respects…

Criminal (In)Justice: #98 Holistic Criminal Defense

James Anderson, a senior behavioral and social scientist at the RAND Corporation, and one of the authors of “The Effects of Holistic Defense on Criminal Justice Outcomes,” which The Bronx Defenders is featured in, talks about a better method of providing criminal defense services through holistic defense. Hear the full podcast here

New York Law Journal: New Yorkers Should Push for Police Accountability

“There’s another way that New Yorkers can push for police accountability–and it involves their elected district attorneys. This form of accountability comes from ‘suppression’ hearings.” Oded Oren, our criminal defense attorney, wrote an op-ed on how New Yorkers can push for police accountability through holding elected district attorneys responsible for their inactions. Suppression hearings held…

Harvard Law Review: The Effects of Holistic Defense on Criminal Justice Outcomes

This Article offers the first large-scale, rigorous evaluation of the impact of holistic defense on criminal justice outcomes. In the Bronx, New York City, a holistic defense provider (The Bronx Defenders) and a traditional defender (the Legal Aid Society) operate side-by-side within the same court system, with case assignment determined quasi-randomly based on court shift…

Giants: A Bronx Tale: Giants tackle criminal justice reform

The New York Giants visited The Bronx Defenders’ office to discuss everything from mass incarceration to what sports’ role is in working toward justice. “We are well aware that there is a strong history of social activism in sports, but I will say as public defenders, this is the first time that we have seen…

New York Times: Letter to the Editor: Public Defenders Are Part of the Solution

“While indigent defense is chronically underfunded, hard-working public defenders stand shoulder to shoulder with their clients every day in the fight for justice. Rather than see defender as contributing to a system of racism and oppression, we should look to defenders as a critical part of the new future Mr. Mill calls on us to…

The Appeal: Facing Lawsuit, NYPD Changes How Officers Use Sealed Arrest Data

  Our lawsuit against the NYPD states that the department is routinely accessing the sealed records of thousands of people and targeting people of color with low-level charges. Under New York’s sealing statutes, arrest records on file with the NYPD that do not result in criminal convictions must be sealed and not disclosed to anyone….

NY Daily News: Legal group pushes back against NYPD’s claim it can use info from sealed cases in other investigations

The Bronx Defenders strongly oppose the NYPD’s claim that they have the right to use information from sealed cases to conduct investigations. Keeping files on individuals with sealed cases has serious ramifications for millions. Our deputy director of impact litigation, Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, says “Half of all NYPD arrests do not result in criminal convictions, yet…

Spotlight on BxD’s work with veterans and service members

Every day, The Bronx Defenders represents people who are veterans, active service members, or interested in future military service. The Bronx is home to approximately 40,000 veterans, who often face unique challenges in all aspects of the justice system, whether in Criminal Court, Family Court, Housing Court, or in administrative proceedings. Many our clients come…

NAPD: An Interview with Justine Olderman

The Bronx Defenders recently joined the National Association for Public Defense. Our Executive Director, Justine Olderman, speaks with the NAPD on The Bronx Defenders’ holistic defense model, passionate staff, and working closely with the Bronx community. “One of the pillars of our model of holistic defense is ‘a deep connection to and understanding of the…