Stop "Stop and Frisk"

The New York Civil Liberties Union in conjunction with The Bronx Defenders filed a civil lawsuit in April of this year on behalf of 13 plaintiffs challenging New York's "Clean Halls" program. According to the complaint, thousands of residents in buildings enrolled in the Clean Halls program are subject to being stopped and illegally ticketed or arrested for trespassing in their own buildings if they fail to produce identification when they take out the garbage, check the mail, duck out to the store for a quart of milk. Young people growing up in these buildings, lawyers say, are routinely searched without legal cause and detained. The lawsuit, which charges the city with violating the Fourth Amendment and the Federal Fair Housing Act, is similar to one filed two years ago against the New York Police Department and the city’s public housing agency, which is alleged to have employed a similar patrol system. The New York Timesran a story on the lawsuit and the program. The Bronx Defenders are offering a "Stop & Frisk" T-shirt to raise money for the lawsuit as well as to raise awareness into this unconstitutional practice. You can get a t-shirt and support a good cause at the same time-always a win win. On June 7th, the New York Civil Liberties Union created a "Stop and Frisk" app that allows users to quickly record and report "stop and frisk" incidents. The NYPD were critical of the app, stating that it could put users in danger. A video demonstration of the app is available here and the app's functions are described below:

A spokesperson for the NYCLU, Jason Javier, described a stop and frisk incident. "As it's happening," he said in a PIX11 interview, "You're feeling defeseless, and even as it doesn't happen, it makes you feel it could happen." That sort of anxiety and frustration is what motivated software designer Jason Van Anden. "I believe in the power of technology to effect positive change," he said at a newsconference hosted by the NYCLU on Wednesday. He said his belief led him to create the Stop and Frisk app for Android smartphones. An iPhone app is not yet available, but is expected to be released next month. The app has three main functions: to record, listen and report a stop and frisk incident to the NYCLU. "The app allows you to record a stop-and-frisk as it's happening," Javier said about the record function. The listen function allows an app user to listen to any other stop and frisk incidents in the vicinity near the user. "This is especially helpful for community groups that monitor police activity," an NYCLU spokesperson says on the organization's website, http://www.nyclu.org/app, which is where the app can be downloaded. The report function leads the app user to a questionnaire with a series of questions pertaining to a stop and frisk the user may have just observed, including asking about the race and gender of the person who was stopped, and the race and gender of the officers involved. It also asks, among other questions, if force was used in the stop and frisk encounter. The user then sends the completed questionnaire to the NYCLU.

"Redefining Public Defense: How Holistic Advocacy Leads to Better Lawyers... and Better Outcomes"

Robin Steinberg, Director of The Bronx Defenders, gave a talk on April 26, 2010 about how we redefine public defense. The audio file is available for download here or you can listen without downloading here.

The focus of the talk is how public defenders traditionally focus on the fight and how we can focus on the bigger picture of how to improve our client's lives. By expanding our focus from the criminal case to the so called "collateral consequences" like immigration, student loans, housing, child welfare, mental health issues, addiction, we can do more to address the broad effects of the criminal justice system. Holistic defense centers around the client and the client's needs using an interdisciplinary approach to address the client's case as well as the client's life goals.

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Great New Resource from Arrest to Reintigration

The Bronx Defenders, an organization that exemplifies all that is good and right in public defense, drew our attention to a wonderful resource: Reentry.Net. The Bronx Defenders is one of the sponsors of reentry.net, the first ever clearinghouse of materials for attorneys, social service providers, and policy reform advocates on reentry and the consequences of criminal proceedings. The National Library contains various research, national policy, and program information. Reentry.net/NY, the New York-specific Resource Center, contains hundreds of resources including training materials, sample letters, and case decisions in addition to a calendar of relevant events. There are over 2000 members comprised of criminal defense and civil legal aid attorneys, service providers and advocates who have found it to be an extremely valuable resource in their efforts to aid clients with reentry concerns. The NY component is more filled out, and both are valuable information resources. As information grows, it becomes more important to get these resources organized so they are more user friendly. Reentry.net connects the various pieces into a more complete map for client reentry resources. It is added as a permalink here.

Support Holistic Defense Bronx Style

The Bronx Defenders are a leader in holistic public defense work that are supported by grants and donations. This groundbreaking approach is on the tipping point...it is a sustainable defense model to improve our justice system as blogged about here and here. You can help with the Summer Hundred Campaign by donating $100, or whatever you can, to the cause. If you happen to be in the Bronx in July, you can enjoy the cocktail party: a pledge enters you into a raffle. The Bronx Defenders are redefining criminal defense by starting with the principle that an arrest is not just an arrest, it can create a whole host of legal and social problems:

The Bronx Defenders employs a groundbreaking system of holistic defense to fight both the causes and consequences of involvement in the criminal justice system. Located in the heart of the South Bronx, our office has been engaged in a constant dialogue with the community we serve. What we have learned from that dialogue is that our client population has a host of legal and social support needs. As holistic defenders we are committed to providing our clients with seamless access to services to meet those needs. Our interdisciplinary teams of criminal, civil, and family defense lawyers, social workers, parent advocates, investigators, and community organizers work with clients and their families to identify and overcome the challenges they face. Whether addressing the root causes of their involvement in the criminal justice system such as addiction, mental illness, and joblessness or the collateral consequences of their criminal case, our goal is not just to succeed in court but to make a long-term difference in our clients’ lives.

Because at The Bronx Defenders, we know an arrest is never just an arrest.

The Bronx Defenders

Only in the Bronx