Yes, a Mistake Was Made an Isolated One

Re: Lawyers in Anti-Police Video Knew of Violent Tone, Inquiry Finds,” New York Times, January 29, 2015

The lawyers from the Bronx Defenders, a city funded agency, who appeared briefly in the anti-police video released on YouTube, made an error in judgment. They should never have agreed to be in a video whose final content they were not able to review prior to release. Had they seen the film in its entirety before release, they would have disassociated themselves and the office from the video’s recklessly disturbing images and language; but the video, in its final form, was not made available for anyone to see prior to its release. Once Bronx Defenders management examined the lyrics and viewed the video as it was posted, they publicly and unequivocally denounced its message and severed any connection to it.

Now some are calling for the city to defund the Bronx Defenders. That would be a terrible mistake. For nineteen years the Bronx Defenders has served tens of thousands of indigent Bronx residents facing criminal charges, while assisting community members with housing, family, child-custody, immigration, and school-related issues. The officesupportsand empowers Bronx residents to help themselves, workingtirelessly to restore dignity to those most affected by the often-dire consequences of life in the Bronx’s poorest neighborhoods. Bronx Defendersis a shining model of how New York can lead the way in addressing the national problem of access to justice.

Yes, a mistake was made – an isolated one.

But calls for defunding are an overreaction that would end up hurting those most in need – the poor and underserved in the Bronx.

Susan Alexander

Claudia Angelos

Adele Bernhard

Frank Bress

Susan Bryant

Sarah Burns

Anna Cominsky

Monroe Freedman

Victor Goode

Lissa Griffin

Marty Guggenheim

Randy Hertz

Mariana Hogan

Kendea Johnson

Eileen Kaufman

Holly MaGuigan

Carlin Meyer

Nancy Morawatz

Jonathan Oberman

Deborah Post

Martha Rayner

Allie Robbins

Meg Satterthwaitte

Franklin Siegel

Kim Taylor Thompson

Anthony Thompson

E. Katie Tinto

Daniel Warshawsky

W. Bradley Wendel

Hazel Weiser

Ellen Yaroshefsky

Deborah Zalesne

Steve Zeidman

Law Professors in New York area law schools