News and Analysis

Legislators Demand End to Transfer of Women and Transgender People Held on Rikers Pre-trial to Prison

Contact: Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) (NEW YORK, NY) – 17 legislators issued an open letter to Governor Hochul and Mayor de Blasio today demanding an end to involuntarily transfer women, transgender and non-binary people currently incarcerated at Rose M. Singer Center (RMSC) on Rikers Island [...]

More than 70 Incarcerated Women and Transgender New Yorkers at Rikers Island Release Petition Protesting Transfers to Upstate Prisons

Contact: Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society (rhaskins@legal-aid.org) Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) Sarah Duggan, Brooklyn Defender Services (SDuggan@bds.org) Emily Whitfield, The Bronx Defenders (Ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org) Lupe Todd-Medina, New York County Defender Services (LToddmedina@nycds.org) Hettie Powell, Queens Defenders (hpowell@queensdefenders.org) (NEW YORK, NY) – More than 70 incarcerated [...]

NDS’ Danielle Jackson Testifies Before NY State Senate on Predatory Court Fees

NDS’ Danielle Jackson Testifies Before NY State Senate on Predatory Court Fees

NDS’ Danielle Jackson testified before the New York State Senate on the End Predatory Court Fees Act. She said that court surcahrges are “a regressive tax that plunders money from poor, mostly Black and brown New Yorkers, to pay for the system that over-polices and over-prosecutes them.” Read her [...]

Legislators and Impacted People Demand That District Attorneys End Cash Bail Practices to Curb Rikers Crisis

Contact: Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** (NEW YORK, NY) – Legislators, public defenders, and impacted New Yorkers gathered outside the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s office on Wednesday to demand that all five New York City District Attorneys end their cash [...]

NYC Defenders’ Statement on Yet Another Death in DOC Custody

September 20, 2021 Contact: Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) Sarah Duggan, Brooklyn Defender Services (SDuggan@bds.org) Emily Whitfield, The Bronx Defenders (Ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org ) ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE** (NEW YORK, NY) – Department of Correction issued a press release late last night announcing yet another death in its custody. [...]

NYC Defenders Demand Courthouse Safety as the Delta Variant of COVID-19 Surges in New York City

August 16, 2021 Contact: Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) Press Office, The Legal Aid Society (press@legal-aid.org) Sarah Duggan, Brooklyn Defender Services (SDuggan@bds.org) Emily Whitfield, The Bronx Defenders (Ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org) Lupe Todd-Medina, New York County Defender Services (LToddmedina@nycds.org) (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender [...]

NYC Defenders’ Statement on Death of Brandon Rodriguez in DOC Custody

August 13, 2021 Contact: Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) Sarah Duggan, Brooklyn Defender Services (SDuggan@bds.org) Emily Whitfield, The Bronx Defenders (Ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org ) Press Office, The Legal Aid Society (press@legal-aid.org) Lupe Todd-Medina, New York County Defender Services (LToddmedina@nycds.org) (NEW YORK, NY) – Gothamist reports that [...]

NDS’ William Botchway Testifies Before New York State Assembly on Emergency Rental Assistance Program

NDS’ William Botchway Testifies Before New York State Assembly on Emergency Rental Assistance Program

The program, designed to support tenants hurt by the pandemic, faces myriad problems: a confusing application process, unnecessary means testing, bureaucratic delays and more.

To Mark Juneteenth, Neighborhood Defender Service of Detroit Announces Creation of Eviction Defense Practice

To Mark Juneteenth, Neighborhood Defender Service of Detroit Announces Creation of Eviction Defense Practice

The practice will focus on representing people negatively impacted by the economic fallout from the pandemic who are in danger of losing their home, and will play a pivotal role keeping Detroiters housed.

NDS Mourns Death of Former Vera Institute President Michael E. Smith

Michael was a giant in the fight for justice in the criminal legal system and an early supporter of NDS and the practice of holistic public defense.

Joint Statement in Response to Reports that NYC Family Court Clerk Used Racial Slurs to Refer to 15-Year-Old

Joint Statement in Response to Reports that NYC Family Court Clerk Used Racial Slurs to Refer to 15-Year-Old (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice, The Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, New York County Defender Services, Lawyers For Children and [...]

NY Supreme Court Rules Incarcerated People Must be Offered COVID Vaccine Immediately

Judge sides with public defenders and advocates in suit, says state’s exclusion of incarcerated people from vaccine eligibility is unconstitutional March 29, 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, [...]

Following Bombshell Report on COVID Deaths on Rikers Island, Officials Must Address the Deadly Conditions That Persist in Jails and Prisons

Today, THE CITY reported on an unreleased Board of Correction (BOC) investigation into three deaths that occurred in Department of Correction (DOC) custody last year. The men died at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in conditions exacerbated by a series of DOC failures, the report shows

NDS: Mayor de Blasio’s Police “Reform” Plan Reinforces Police Impunity and Endangers Black and Brown New Yorkers

Mayor de Blasio’s plan for police reform is an insult to public defenders, to organizations working to confront police misconduct, and to Black and brown New Yorkers who have been subject to constant surveillance and frequent police violence.

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

If granted, the preliminary injunction would force the state to begin offering vaccinations to incarcerated people immediately, while awaiting a final decision on the petition.

Public Defenders, Advocates Sue New York, Claim Vaccine Denial Violates Constitutional Rights of Incarcerated People

February 4, 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 YORK, NY) – Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, The [...]

NDS’ Amy Kwak Testifies to New York City Council on Expanding Right to Counsel

Evictions are always an act of violence; during a pandemic they can be deadly. Expand the Right to Counsel

NDS Harlem Calls on New York to Vaccinate Incarcerated People Now

As the pandemic’s latest wave rages, with New York City’s COVID positivity rate now at more than 9 percent, the state has two solutions before it, which must be pursued in tandem: vaccinate every incarcerated person and reduce the jail and prison population. The consequences of inaction would be catastrophic.

Public Defenders Nationwide Announce Plan for Immigration Justice; Provide Ten-Point Plan to Biden Administration

The plan urges the Biden administration and new Democratic majority in Congress to act swiftly and decisively for immigration justice to undo the unjust, harmful and destructive tactics of the outgoing administration.

New York Installs Privacy Safeguards for Contact Tracing

Last night, Governor Cuomo signed a bill into law that will protect the confidentiality of contact tracing information and prohibit access by police and immigration enforcement.

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