Brooklyn Defender union calls on embattled boss to step down

Brooklyn Defender union calls on embattled boss to step down

Labor tensions escalated on Thursday as elected city officials and union members called for the executive director of the city’s second-largest public defense group to step down, less than a week after she was accused of attempting to break up her organization’s attorneys’ union.

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Indicted Queens Defenders founder accused of new theft while awaiting trial

Indicted Queens Defenders founder accused of new theft while awaiting trial

Lori Zeno, the former head of Queens Defenders accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars with her husband from the nonprofit she founded, has continued to siphon money from the organization as she awaits trial, according to the feds.

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City violates detainees’ right to counsel, attys claim

City violates detainees’ right to counsel, attys claim

Public defense attorneys alleged on Tuesday that the Department of Correction consistently violates the rights of detainees by making it difficult for them to meet with their lawyers while being held on Rikers Island.

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Dismissed Queens criminal case highlights discovery debate

Dismissed Queens criminal case highlights discovery debate

As negotiations over changes to the state’s evidence-sharing laws hold up the passage of the state’s budget in Albany, a recent criminal case in Queens appears to highlight the core of the debate over discovery.

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Queens Defenders faces uncertain future after city cuts major contract

Queens Defenders faces uncertain future after city cuts major contract

Queens Defenders, the World’s Borough’s largest public defender organization, is facing an uncertain future after the city said that it no longer trusted the firm to carry out the promise of a $32 million contract to provide criminal defense to low-income New Yorkers in Queens.

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Attorney general, NYCBA and public defenders call for Rikers receiver

Attorney general, NYCBA and public defenders call for Rikers receiver

The New York State attorney general, a top bar association, scores of public defense organizations, several former New York City officials and a criminal justice nonprofit all called on a federal judge to strip control over Rikers Island away from the city and hand it over to a court-appointed receiver. 

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City’s failure to get detainees to doctors continues, attys say

City’s failure to get detainees to doctors continues, attys say

The city’s Department of Correction has again been accused of not providing medical care to detainees after three law firms representing the incarcerated population on Rikers Island filed a motion to have a judge hold the agency in contempt for skirting its mandated duties.

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