July 10, 2020
The New York federal judge overseeing the dispute between the Federal Defenders of New York and the Federal Bureau of Prisons over attorneys' access to clients in detention on Friday criticized the backlog of inmate requests for calls with their lawyers, calling the government's effort insufficient.
May 01, 2020
The New York federal judge overseeing the mediation of a lawsuit brought by The Federal Defenders of New York against the Federal Bureau of Prisons over attorneys' access to clients in detention on Friday voiced concern over continued problems, including "brazen" conduct by prison guards who were reportedly listening in on an inmate's phone calls with lawyers.
April 24, 2020
An attorney for the Federal Defenders of New York on Friday told the Brooklyn federal judge overseeing a dispute over attorneys' contact with their incarcerated clients in New York federal jails that problems are persisting, including two cases of COVID-19 positive inmates who were being held in medical isolation without telephonic access to their attorneys or families.
April 10, 2020
A Brooklyn federal judge on Friday said that the Federal Bureau of Prisons was failing in its duty to provide access to counsel for inmates in New York City detention centers, criticizing them for barring sick inmates from speaking to their attorneys during the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 03, 2020
A Brooklyn federal judge on Friday chastised the Federal Bureau of Prisons for failing to provide New York City inmates adequate access to their attorneys during the coronavirus pandemic, giving the agency until Monday to explain why it wasn't allowing more phone calls.
March 23, 2020
A New York federal judge appointed former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Monday to handle the dispute between the Federal Defenders of New York and the Federal Bureau of Prisons over attorney access to detainees, responding to the Second Circuit's plea that a mediator be appointed quickly to help craft new protocols amid the coronavirus pandemic.
March 03, 2019
A New York federal judge on Friday declined to renew an order mandating strict access to attorneys for inmates in a Brooklyn federal jail that had no heat for a frigid week in January, finding the lawyers who sued over the ordeal lack standing to bring Sixth Amendment claims.
February 10, 2019
Amid mounting questions about conditions in a Brooklyn federal prison that lost power and heat in January, the more than 1,600 men and women living there have earned a court victory providing access to attorneys, but the legal fight following the alleged humanitarian crisis isn't over.