Bronx Defenders Among Honorees at Statewide Conference

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Members of The Bronx Defenders Legal Department, honored at NYSDA’s Annual Conference, shown during a training. From top: Defne Ozgediz, Ilona Coleman, and Aimee Carlisle (Ruth Hamilton not pictured).

• Miriam Mack, Policy Counsel of Family Defense Practice at The Bronx Defenders, was also among those honored by the New York State Defenders Association during its 54th Annual Conference, held online.

ALBANY, NY (08/11/2021) (readMedia)-- During its 54th Annual Meeting and Conference, held online, the New York State Defenders Association (NYSDA) named the Public Defense Community as the recipient of the 2021 Jonathan E. Gradess Service of Justice Award. As the July 28, 2021, presentation recognized, "many defenders went above and beyond during the pandemic" on behalf of their clients and in solidarity with one another. "From New York City to the North Country and across the state, public defense providers fought for their clients," said NYSDA Executive Director Susan C. Bryant. NYSDA chose to honor the Public Defense Community for several reasons. Public defense lawyers sought to protect the health and safety of people accused or convicted of crimes, seeking their release from incarceration and calling for government action to end risk of infection in prisons and jails. Attorneys representing parents and other caregivers worked to keep families that had been torn apart as connected as possible when the COVID-19 outbreak surged, refusing to let clients' cases languish unheard. Additionally, many took time to share strategies and information with far-flung colleagues through "trainings, meetings, emails, advocacy, and other communications," all while dealing with the personal pressures of working in unprecedented circumstances.

The award was announced with full recognition that not every endeavor was successful or as broadly applicable as might be hoped. Nonetheless, the energy that went into these efforts showed clients they had not been abandoned and demonstrated to all the nature of client-centered practice.

Among those named to represent the many individual lawyers and defense offices that inspired NYSDA during the pandemic were Miriam Mack, Policy Counsel of the Family Defense Practice with The Bronx Defenders, and The Legal Department of The Bronx Defenders.

The other named honorees were:

• Chelsea Carter, Assistant Public Defender, Ontario County Public Defender's Office

• Tracey Chance, Schenectady County Conflict Defender

• Adele Fine, Family Court Bureau Chief, Monroe County Public Defender's Office

• Yung-Mi Lee, Legal Director, Criminal Practice, Brooklyn Defender Services

• Nila Natarajan, Supervising Attorney & Policy Counsel, Family Defense Practice, Brooklyn Defender Services

• St. Lawrence County Public Defender's Office

The Jonathan E. Gradess Service of Justice Award, named for NYSDA's first Executive Director, commends individuals or organizations that have provided outstanding support to public defense and to NYSDA. Those public defense lawyers who sought information and ideas from NYSDA and used what they received to help their clients, like those who shared their insights and templates with others, furthered NYSDA's mission: to improve the quality and scope of publicly supported legal representation of people who cannot afford counsel.