“Transgender people continue to be moved from facility to facility because the Department of Correction often houses them incorrectly and then needs to move them to another housing area,” Deborah Lolai, supervising attorney of the Bronx Defenders’ LGBTQ Defense Practice, in a statement. “This means that transgender people are going to be exposed to many…
May 1, 2020 Contact: 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 YORK, NY) – Public defender organizations, LGBTQ+ advocates, elected officials, and others, in a recent letter to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, the New York State Department of Corrections…
“El peruano Carlos Usategui, quien estuvo detenido dos meses en el Orange County Correctional Facility, en Nueva York, asegura que en ese centro penitenciario no se están tomando en serio la crisis desatada por el coronavirus, pues no tienen mascarillas, guantes ni desinfectantes disponibles y los presos están expuestos peligrosamente al virus.” Watch the full…
“At this point, the coronavirus has infected hundreds of thousands of Americans and killed over 50,000. One of the CDC’s most basic guidelines for avoiding COVID-19 is, of course, frequently washing one’s hands. Robyn Barnard, an asylum attorney in Southern California, says that her client contacted her and asked her to put money in his…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 28, 2020 CONTACTS: Alejandra Lopez, The Legal Aid Society, ailopez@legal-aid.org Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org Hanna Johnson, ACLU, HJohnson@aclu.org Paloma Aguas, ACLU-NJ, paguas@aclu-nj.org Seven Medically Vulnerable Immigrants in ICE Detention Seek Release Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Represented By Legal Aid, Bronx Defenders, Paul Weiss, ACLU-NJ (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal…
Case 2:20-cv-05061-JMV Case 2:20-cv-05053
“During testimony in Albany in November, Emma Ketteringham, managing attorney of Bronx Defenders’ Family Defense Practice said the problems include too few judges and a lack of evening and weekend courtroom hours. “As a result, families are separated needlessly and kept separated for longer than necessary,” she told lawmakers. Pandemic-related court closures have exacerbated those delays for the foreseeable…
“According to the Driven by Justice Coalition, New York issued nearly 1.7 million driver’s license suspensions for traffic debt during a 28-month period between 2016 and 2018. Nearly 75 percent of those with suspended licenses drive anyway, said Ranit Patel of The Bronx Defenders, a nonprofit public defender organization. The calls to suspend fines and…
“In states with shelter-in-place orders, most courts have been closed or able to hear only limited types of cases, with devastating consequences for some families. The lack of access to courts has delayed reunifications for families with children in foster care, and has caused difficulties for child custody arrangements in domestic violence cases. The outsized…
“Now, discovery laws have been extended to 20 calendar days and allowed some information to be non-discoverable. “The [amendments to] discovery provisions will also deny people facing criminal charges access to crucial and potentially exculpatory witness information. These are not small tweaks; they have bludgeoned reform just as it was taking root,” said the Bronx…
“Advocates held a rally outside Queensboro Correctional Facility demanding the release all state prisoners who are within one year of their release date. The protest, which included former inmates, prison health experts and advocacy organizations, is part of a larger call to release prisoners in order to save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Read the…
“$1,000,000 for equity and justice – In partnership with legal aid groups, such as Bronx Defenders, Legal Aid Society and others, ensures that 2,000 Bronxites are supported through their criminal, civil, child welfare and immigration cases during the New York stay-at-home order” Read the full article here
“Maar de New Yorkse media missen een nog veel sensationeler verhaal, zegt advocaat Eli Northrup, die regelmatig verdachten bijstaat bij hun eerste voorgeleiding na arrestatie. “Dat is het verhaal van iemand die geen borgtocht krijgt opgelegd die hij niet kan betalen, terug mag gaan naar zijn gezin, zijn baan niet verliest. In plaats van pas…
“En su decisión, la magistrada indicó que como no se aseguran los protocolos de higiene y salud en medio de la pandemia, los inmigrantes son expuestos a un alto riesgo de enfermarse gravemente o morir. Lo cual, dijo, equivale a una pena o castigo extremo bajo las normas del debido proceso. La demanda fue presentada…
“Many attorneys and legal offices continue demanding that all immigrants be released. Releasing people from immigration detention can protect their lives, the lives of staff, and public health. A growing number of courts around the country have ordered the immediate release of medically vulnerable individuals. Courts are recognizing both the enormous risk of harm that…
“U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo described the Bergen and Hudson County jails as “the epicenter of the [corona]virus in New Jersey” in her decision made on Easter Sunday. The ACLU, the Legal Aid Society, and the Bronx Defenders, represented the petitions in this matter. “We are thankful for the court’s clear message: that COVID-19 poses…
April 13, 2020 CONTACTS: Alejandra Lopez, The Legal Aid Society, ailopez@legal-aid.org Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org Hanna Johnson, ACLU, HJohnson@aclu.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** Legal Aid, Bronx Defenders, ACLU Win Immediate Release of Five Medically-Vulnerable Immigrants in ICE Detention, Amid COVID-19 Pandemic (NEW YORK, NY) –The Legal Aid Society, The Bronx Defenders, and The…
“When this is over, I’ll go to Lupita’s Restaurant around the corner from The Bronx Defenders, order one of every taco, then bring it back to a conference room where I’ll brainstorm with my team and relish the banter that’s impossible on a screen.” Read the full article here
“After the reforms took effect, criminal justice experts found they were working well in keeping people out of jail. “People were going home to their families and their jobs and their kids, not spending time in a jail cell,” Scott Levy of the Bronx Defenders told Filter. “The sky was not falling. There was a ton…
“Reform advocates are also troubled by the timing of the changes, adopted during a pandemic that had spread to several local jails. The outbreaks in lockups have forced authorities to find ways to reduce jail populations; Cuomo, a Democrat, has promised to approve the release of 1,100 inmates held on technical parole violations. The bail…
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** Bronx Defenders Wins Immediate Release of 3 Individuals Vulnerable to COVID-19 in NYC Jails April 8, 2020 CONTACT: Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, 917-635-4326, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org (NEW YORK, NY) – A judge today ordered the immediate release of three people detained in New York City jails who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 in…
“A court decision blocking the New York field office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from using its so-called “no release” policy for certain people detained before a hearing is being hailed by immigrant advocates as a key victory that could set an important standard for other parts of the country. U.S. District Judge Judge…
“The deal that passed the Senate on Thursday night and the Assembly on Friday morning makes crimes like second-degree burglary, promoting child pornography, vehicular manslaughter and several others bail-eligible once again. In a statement Friday, a coalition of New York City public defender groups that includes the Bronx Defenders, The Legal Aid Society and Brooklyn…
“Experts in immigration law say that this is one of the fundamental misunderstandings people in the U.S. have about ICE detention: Despite the administration’s rhetoric, ICE does not actually have the authority to detain people in the name of public safety. The agency can only detain people for allegedly violating immigration laws. “It’s something that…
April 3, 2020 Contact: Jared Chausow, Brooklyn Defender Services (JChausow@bds.org) Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders (RKarerat@bronxdefenders.org ) Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society (RHaskins@legal-aid.org) Sam McCann, The Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) Lupe Todd-Medina, New York County Defender Services (LToddmedina@nycds.org) ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYC DEFENDERS STATEMENT ON LEGISLATIVE ROLLBACK OF BAIL AND DISCOVERY…