The Bronx Defenders

Karla Ostolaza, Managing Director of BxD's Immigration Practice, is being honored as a Distinguished Fellow of Immigrant Justice Corps tonight, accepting the award on behalf of IJC's inaugural 2014 class! We're proud of Karla's tireless commitment to providing excellent legal counsel to New York City's immigrants.

At our 2024 Gala last night, we celebrated the incredible staff and sponsors who make The Bronx Defenders what it is: an interdisciplinary team of advocates focused not only on defending the people of the Bronx from the unjust outcomes of the legal system, but also on transforming the system itself. Thank you to our host Desus Nice, our wonderful guests, and our honorees: Liz Garbus and Dan Cogan, Wang Hecker LLP, Ovative Group, and Josie Duffy Rice.

New York's sentencing laws are in desperate need of change, in part due to SCOTUS issuing a decision last summer that renders a portion of the laws unconstitutional. Mandatory minimums in particular drive mass incarceration, make mere cogs out of judges, and incentivize prosecutors to coerce guilty pleas. For New York Law Journal, our own Eli Northrup examines the choices before the state legislature in light of the SCOTUS decision, and why the Marvin Mayfield Act is the most sensible path forward: https://lnkd.in/gp9UhrBx

Congratulations to Juval Scott, the new Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders, who was elected to the Council on Criminal Justice earlier this month. Juval is a nationally recognized leader with 20 years of experience in public defense, civil rights litigation, and sentencing reform.? Before joining BxD, Juval served as the Director of the Sentencing Resource Counsel, where she provided training and litigation support to federal defense advocates. Juval also spent nearly five years serving as a Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Virginia. We’re proud to welcome Juval to The Bronx Defenders and celebrate her recent achievement as we continue to zealously represent the people of the Bronx.? https://lnkd.in/ebgmgV3B

New York's sentencing laws are in desperate need of change, in part due to SCOTUS issuing a decision last summer that renders a portion of the laws unconstitutional. Mandatory minimums in particular drive mass incarceration, make mere cogs out of judges, and incentivize prosecutors to coerce guilty pleas. For New York Law Journal, our own Eli Northrup examines the choices before the state legislature in light of the SCOTUS decision, and why the Marvin Mayfield Act is the most sensible path forward: https://lnkd.in/gp9UhrBx

We are thrilled that in just one week we will host our Annual Gala! This year, we will be recognizing the work of those who are creatively challenging the systemic forms of oppression that separate families, criminalize immigrants and marginalized people, and create ripple effects that continue to harm our communities for generations. Our sneak peek at the honorees continues today! Josie Duffy Rice is a BxD alumna, journalist, writer, and podcast host will receive the Robin Steinberg Award for Innovation in Pursuit of Justice for her impactful work focusing on the harms caused by oppressive legal systems. Josie is the writer and host of several podcasts, including the Peabody nominated “UnReformed: The Story of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children,” and the recently released “The Thirty-Year Project,” a look back at the 1994 Crime Bill. Join us on Oct 30 to help us celebrate her work! Bxd.pub/gala24

Our Annual Gala is two weeks away! Don’t forget to join us as we celebrate those who are challenging the systemic forms of oppression that separate families, criminalize immigrants and create ripple effects that continue to harm our communities for generations. For the third year, our emcee is Desus Nice, a writer and comedian from the Bronx. Desus co-hosted Showtime’s award-winning late-night talk show Desus & Mero for four seasons, and co-wrote the New York Times bestselling life advice book “God-Level Knowledge Darts: Life Lessons from the Bronx,” which was released in September 2020. We look forward to honoring the dedication of those fighting for a new era of public defense on October 30! Purchase your ticket today at bxd.pub/gala24

We are thrilled that in just two weeks we will host our Annual Gala! This year, we will be recognizing the work of those who are creatively challenging the systemic forms of oppression that separate families, criminalize immigrants and marginalized people, and create ripple effects that continue to harm our communities for generations. Liz Garbus and Dan Cogan are executive producers of the Netflix documentary “Take Care of Maya,” a story of a Florida couple who fights authorities for custody of their daughter from the family policing system. We are proud to honor them with our Allies in Pursuit of Justice Award, for their work creating innovative and ambitious visual content that champions storytelling and uplifts marginalized voices! Click the link in our bio and join us on Oct 30 to help us celebrate their work! bxd.pub/gala24

Have you purchased your ticket to this year's Annual Gala? Our Early Bird rate ends in just TWO DAYS! In addition to hosting the gala at a new venue, our new Executive Director, Juval O. Scott, will introduce herself and welcome everyone as we embark on a new era of defense. We’re also proud to announce a new honoree, Josie Duffy Rice, who has used her immense talents as a communicator to educate people about the need for dramatic changes to our criminal legal systems! Our Early Bird ends October 4th! Click the link and join us on October 30th! https://bxd.pub/3xLifDp

Read the important op-ed on the Raise the Age law from Orayne Williams, Director of the Adolescent Defense Project of The Bronx Defenders. Orayne explains that Raise the Age was designed to protect young people in New York from long and unjust criminal sentences, but could do more for our youth. To keep youth safe, “we must become a city that adopts a ‘Rehabilitation Not Incarceration’ perspective, especially for one of our most vulnerable population, youths and adolescents, and begin to work towards increasing programming opportunities for youth.” https://lnkd.in/grqbMsTQ