FYI: Defense lawyers say Las Vegas judge ‘was wrong’ to handcuff attorney — VIDEO

From: Letwin, Michael
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2016 10:05 AM
Subject: FYI: Defense lawyers say Las Vegas judge ‘was wrong’ to handcuff attorney — VIDEO

 

(Used to happen here too*)

 

http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/defense-lawyers-say-las-vegas-judge-was-wrong-handcuff-attorney-video

 

Posted  May 26, 2016 – 6:50pm Updated  May 26, 2016 – 8:14pm

Defense lawyers say Las Vegas judge ‘was wrong’ to handcuff attorney — VIDEO

Zohra Bakhtary (LinkedIn) Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Conrad Hafen is shown on the bench on Tuesday, April 12, 2016. (Ronda Churchill/Las Vegas Review-Journal) Zohra Bakhtary (Courtesy Zohra Bakhtary)
image

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Handcuffed public defender says she simply wanted judge to listen to her argument

Las Vegas judge handcuffs public defender in courtroom

By DAVID FERRARA
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

A group of Clark County defense attorneys is backing a colleague who was handcuffed in Las Vegas Justice Court this week.

On Monday, Justice of the Peace Conrad Hafen directed a court marshal to restrain Deputy Public Defender Zohra Bakhtary in his courtroom. The Clark County Defenders Union criticized the judge’s actions Thursday in a letter to news outlets.

“Judge Hafen improperly handcuffed one of our public defenders simply for doing her job,” according to the letter, signed by a 12-member board of directors. “His actions were unreasonable and unprecedented. Judge Hafen was wrong.”

The union represents about 105 lawyers from the Clark County public defender’s and special public defender’s offices, said its president, Ryan Bashor.

A surveillance video made public Thursday shows Hafen pointing to a court marshal and then at Bakhtary, standing at the defense table in Courtroom 6A. The video does not capture any audio.

Court transcripts indicate that Hafen told Bakhtary to “be quiet,” as she tried to argue that a man facing larceny charges should not be thrown behind bars. After Bakhtary tried to speak, the judge asked her if she wanted to be found in contempt.

There was a brief exchange between the judge and lawyer before the marshal approached Bakhtary, who placed her hands behind her back, and put her in handcuffs. Bakhtary was led out of the frame, while the defendant, Daniel Fernandez, stood alone in a white, short-sleeved shirt at the defense table.

Moments later the same marshal walked up behind the defendant and took him into custody. Fernandez was ordered to serve six months in jail for a larceny charge that he picked up after being ordered to perform community service on other similar charges.

“Go ahead and un-cuff Zohra,” the judge then stated, according to court transcripts. “I think she’s learned a lesson.”

The defense group wrote that with Bakhtary in handcuffs, Fernandez was denied his right to an attorney.

Hafen “violated one of our most sacred, fundamental, and constitutionally protected rights,” according to the letter.

About three minutes after being led away, Bakhtary walked back into the frame, her hands free.

In an interview with the Review-Journal earlier this week, Hafen said he ordered Bakhtary handcuffed because “there needs to be proper decorum with attorneys.” The judge could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Bakhtary, who has worked about once a week in Hafen’s courtroom for three years, said she “did not act unprofessionally. I simply wanted the Court to listen to my argument and consider it before remanding my client.”

Prosecutor Jake Villani said Bakhtary had been given a chance to argue for her client and was interrupting the judge’s ruling.

“My recollection is consistent with the transcripts,” he said. “The judge gave her ample opportunity and warning before taking action.”

Public Defender Phil Kohn has said that an audio/video system, known as JAVS, should have been turned on while the judge was holding court. Hafen said he does not use the system because of potential technological glitches, and the court reporter’s transcript is the official court record.

“There’s nothing unusual about JAVS being disabled in that courtroom,” Villani said. “I’m not aware of a Justice Court that uses the JAVS system actively.”

In Thursday’s letter, the defense group wrote that the transcript “appears incomplete.”

Letter from CCDU

Bakhtary said that after she was released she asked the judge for a break because she was shaking and wanted to call her boss.

The judge denied her request and asked her to continue with her caseload.

That exchange should have been captured in the transcripts, Bashor said, though it is unclear whether proceedings were on the record at that point.

“I can understand why it may not be included,” Bashor said. But “the more thorough thing, in the union’s position, would have been to include the aftermath.”

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find@randompoker on Twitter.

Transcript of Hafen Contempt by Las Vegas Review-Journal

 

*On December 3, 1991, judicial abuse of Staff Attorneys resurfaced when Staff Attorney Michelle Myers was handcuffed for alleged lateness and for “smiling” at Criminal Court Judge Bernadette Bayne; Myers had asked that her client, charged with a misdemeanor, be unshackled for a pre-trial hearing. On December 12, Brooklyn CDD union members protested by walking off the job and picketing Criminal Court. Several days later, 100 Brooklyn CDD attorneys voted to boycott Bayne’s courtroom to protest both Myers’s treatment and the contempt citations issued by judges against four other Staff Attorneys — all of whom were either incarcerated or handcuffed for periods ranging from a few minutes to two hours for “being late.”

When, in February 1992, the State Commission on Judicial Misconduct dismissed the Society’s complaint against Bayne regarding this incident, ALAA told the New York Law Journal that “[u]ntil there exists a genuine remedy 1,000 Legal Aid attorneys facing judicial abuse in the future will remain compelled to defend our rights — and those of our clients — with immediate, direct action.(10)”

History of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys UAW Local 2325

FYI: Remembering 2004 Marden Awardee Bob Zuss on his 73st Birthday (May 28)

From: Letwin, Michael
Sent: Friday, May 27, 2016 10:15 AM
To: 1199 Members; CRIMINAL ATTYS ALL; 1199 Members; CIVIL BENEFITS CHAT GROUP; CIVIL BKLYN AGING ALL; CIVIL BNO ALL; CIVIL BRONX ALL; CIVIL CONSUMER LAW CHAT GROUP; CIVIL DAP CHAT GROUP; CIVIL EMPLOYMENT LAW ALL; JUVENILE ATTYS ALL; JUVENILE APPEALS ALL; CIVIL EXTERN ATTYS ALL; CIVIL FAMILY CHAT GROUP; CIVIL HCLO ALL; CIVIL HEALTH LAW ALL; CIVIL HOMELESS RIGHTS ALL; CIVIL HOUSING ADVOCATES CHAT GROUP; CIVIL IMMIGRATION ALL; CIVIL LAW REFORM ALL
Subject: FYI: Remembering 2004 Marden Awardee Bob Zuss on his 73st Birthday (May 28)

 

For the final twenty years of his life, Robert Zuss (1943-2006) was a public defender at The Legal Aid Society in Brooklyn.

Zuss helped forge leadership within the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys/UAW Local 2325 (ALAA) that promoted bottom-up democratic decision-making; membership mobilization conducted jointly with support staff members of 1199SEIU; and racial, economic and social justice — at home and abroad.

More: http://bobzuss.wordpress.com/

RE: NYTimes: Elizabeth M. Fink, a Lawyer for Attica Inmates and Radicals, Dies at 70

From: Letwin, Michael
Date: Fri, Sep 25, 2015 at 2:19 PM
Subject: RE: NYTimes: Elizabeth M. Fink, a Lawyer for Attica Inmates and Radicals, Dies at 70

On her left in the NYT photo below is Akil Al-Jundi (1940-1997), Attica Brother, Legal Aid staff member in Manhattan Criminal, 1199 senior delegate, and “a rock on whom both unions came to depend.”

2015.02.23: RE: Follow-up from Union Meeting Today

From: Letwin, Michael
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2015 10:29 AM
Subject: RE: Follow-up from Union Meeting Today

Some essential background on our union’s previous unfortunate acceptance of bonuses, AKA givebacks:

2011.12.05: Re: Vote No On Tuesday in Solidarity with 1199
https://alaa2325.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/2011-12-05-re-vote-no-on-tuesday-in-solidarity-with-1199/

2011.11.21: RE: Questions about this extra day PLEASE READ!!!!
https://alaa2325.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/2011-11-21-re-questions-about-this-extra-day-please-read/

2007.10.29: Reasons to Vote Down the Contract
https://alaa2325.wordpress.com/2007/10/29/reasons-to-vote-down-the-contract/

2007.05.15: The Real Issues in This Election
https://alaa2325.wordpress.com/2007/05/16/the-real-issues-in-this-election-michael-letwin/

And earlier resistance to bonuses:

1999.03.26: History of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys UAW Local 2325
https://alaa2325.wordpress.com/1999/03/26/history-of-the-association-of-legal-aid-attorneys-uaw-local-2325/

2014.12.17: Brooklyn Public Defenders Die-In for Eric Garner

So proud to be with hundreds of fellow Association of Legal Aid Attorneys – UAW 2325 members, Attorneys of Color of Legal Aid (ACLA), 1199 members and other public defenders who walked out of Brooklyn Criminal Court and joined today’s die-in at Brooklyn House of Detention, for Eric Garner, Mike Brown and all other victims of police violence, mass incarceration and a racist criminal justice system. We also took over Brooklyn Bridge Place and marched through downtown Brooklyn.

Chants included:
*Black Lives Matter: Justice for Eric Garner!
*No Justice, No Peace, No Racist Police!
*End Broken Windows: Fire Bill Bratton!
*Hands Up, Don’t Shoot!
*Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Shut it Down, Shut the Whole Damn System Down!
*Indict, convict, send those killer cops to jail, the whole damn system is guilty as hell!
*Who’s Streets? Our Streets!
*What Do We Want? Justice!

#BlackLivesMatter #EricGarner #WeCantBreathe #ShutItDown#FireBratton

More photos at:

https://www.facebook.com/michael.letwin/media_set?set=a.10205433197099686.1073741850.1542848808&type=1

https://twitter.com/jncatron/status/545358281531604992/photo/1

https://www.facebook.com/somesq1958/media_set?set=a.1446531175169.2060694.1589877680&type=3

Coverage:

100 Brooklyn public defenders walk out in Eric Garner protest

https://www.facebook.com/michael.letwin/media_set?set=a.10205422912842586.1073741849.1542848808&type=3

http://www.buzzfeed.com/tasneemnashrulla/new-york-public-defenders-walk-out-of-court-protesting-eric?bftw=main

http://brooklyn.news12.com/news/legal-aid-attorneys-stage-walk-out-at-brooklyn-criminal-court-to-protest-garner-death-1.9723742

http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20141217/defense-lawyers-march-to-protest-police-killings

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/defense-lawyers-march-protest-police-killings-27667839

Attorneys of Color Caucus – ACLA
Association of Legal Aid Attorneys – UAW 2325

Related:

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/12/new_orleans_public_defenders_a.html

Tagged photos below at Facebook

December 4, 2014: NYC Protest for Eric Garner

UAW 2325 and 1199 union members from Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn office, stood with our clients and communities by leading a 100-strong contingent across the Brooklyn Bridge to rally with thousands tonight at Foley Square.

Chants included:
*Black Lives Matter: Justice for Eric Garner!
*No Justice, No Peace, No Racist Police!
*End Broken Windows: Fire Bill Bratton!
*The System is Racist!
*Hands Up, Don’t Shoot!
*Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Shut it Down, Shut it Down!
*Who’s Streets? Our Streets!
*NYPD, KKK, How Many Kids Did You Kill Today?
*What Do We Want? Justice!

#BlackLivesMatter#EricGarner#ICantBreathe#ShutItDown#FireBratton

ALAA Members Demand NYPD Accountability for Death of Eric Garner

[Unanimously adopted by Executive Board, Association of Legal Aid Attorneys/UAW Local 2325]

Tuesday, August 12, 2014
ALAA MEMBERS DEMAND NYPD ACCOUNTABILITY FOR DEATH OF ERIC GARNER

On July 17, 2014, a group of NYPD officers killed Eric Garner, a 43-year-old, African-American resident of Staten Island. The New York City Chief Medical Examiner’s office ruled Mr. Garner’s death a homicide, the result of a “compression of neck (choke hold), compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police.” A video of the encounter shows a police officer choking Mr. Garner from behind and dragging him to the ground. As the officer chokes him and as more officers pile on top of him, Mr. Garner repeatedly gasps, “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,” until he loses consciousness.

The officers claim that Mr. Garner had been selling loose cigarettes.

Mr. Garner was a client of The Legal Aid Society and a repeated target of NYPD harassment. As members of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys/UAW Local 2325, representing more than 1,000 attorneys, we stand in solidarity with Mr. Garner’s family and with community members who have been under siege for far too long.

As attorneys, we see instances of police violence against our clients everyday. Moreover, we see how disruptive and destructive the criminal justice system can often be, and how it degrades and dehumanizes the most vulnerable members of our community and vastly diminishes their access to a range of basic survival opportunities. A seemingly innocuous police encounter can lead to a range of serious consequences affecting one’s housing, immigration status, and employment. In the case of Mr. Garner, the police encounter led to him being killed.

The 120th Precinct, where Mr. Garner was killed, is a hotbed of police abuse, with seven of the city’s top ten officers most frequently sued for civil rights violations. Yet the national public outrage at Mr. Garner’s killing and the 120th’s record of abuse has done little to deter more police violence. After Mr. Garner’s death, even more videos have surfaced of the police attacking the men and women of our communities. We have seen officers choke a pregnant woman and stomp on a young man in Brooklyn. We have seen EMTs intervene to prevent officers from assaulting a restrained, mentally ill man. We have seen reports documenting the rampant culture of abuse at Rikers Island. In short, we have seen the violence continue.

Sadly, these are not isolated incidents: they represent a tragic pattern of abuse of poor people and people of color at the hands of the NYPD, a pattern that stretches back to the killings of Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr., Ramarley Graham, Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo, Anthony Baez, and many others. In fact, the circumstances surrounding Mr. Garner’s death mirror the NYPD’s killing of another Staten Island resident, Ernest Sayon, twenty years ago. Like Mr. Garner, Mr. Sayon was choked to death in police custody – but in his case, there was no video of the incident, and no officers were ever held accountable.

This time, it will be different. While we are outraged by Mr. Garner’s death, and by police violence in all forms, we are heartened by the strong community response on the North Shore of Staten Island and throughout the city. We demand that our elected officials heed the call of our communities and fight to protect the rights and dignity of poor people and people of color in New York. We demand wholesale changes in the culture and practices of the NYPD. We demand an end to “broken windows” and “stop and frisk” policing, which have targeted New Yorkers on the basis of race and poverty for far too long.

We demand accountability from the NYPD, Police Commissioner William Bratton, Staten Island District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr., and Mayor Bill de Blasio. We, the undersigned members of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys/UAW Local 2325, demand justice for Eric Garner.

2014.07.29: Updated Signers (173) of Mass Free Speech Grievance

From: Letwin, Michael
Sent: Friday, August 08, 2014 1:25 PM
To: ALAA Members, 1199 Members
Subject: Updated Signers (173) of Mass Free Speech Grievance

­On July 29, 2014, the ALAA Joint Council voted to “authorize this grievance to proceed through the third step of the grievance process.”

Additional individual endorsers from both ALAA and 1199 will continue to be listed below.

 

Mass Free Speech Grievance
July 15, 2014
List in formation: 173 Signers: 130 ALAA members (including 54 ACLA members*) and 43 1199/SEIU members

The undersigned members of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys/UAW Local 2325 and 1199SEIU Healthcare Workers East hereby join in grieving Legal Aid Society management’s attempt to ban “non-work-related matter involving the current situation in the Middle East,” as reflected in the two warnings (attached below), concerning messages to the ALAA email discussion list.

This censorship is just the most recent reflection of more than twelve years of pandering to complaints and threats by those seeking to silence antiwar and Palestine human rights opinion at Legal Aid.

Regardless of our individual political views, the targeted speech — like earlier opposition to racial segregation, the Vietnam War, or South African apartheid — is protected under ALAA Collective Bargaining Agreement §§ 3.5 (“Free Speech”) and 1.5. (“Union Activities”), and under relevant 1199SEIU contractual provisions.

In addition, such discrimination contributes to a broader hostile work environment for Arabs, Muslims, Palestinians and other people of color, in violation of ALAA Collective Bargaining Agreement § 3.1.1. (“Non-Discrimination”), CBA § 3.1.2. (“Affirmative Action”), relevant 1199SEIU contractual provisions, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.

It is irrelevant that ALAA has agreed to eventually relocate its discussion list from the Society’s email system. As long as the current list exists, management may not selectively censor particular views or entire topics, while at the same time turning a blind eye to innumerable political and “non-work-related” messages — often sent by the very same list members who demand censorship of others.

There is no “heckler’s veto” or “Palestine exception” when it comes to free speech.

Moreover, since recipients can easily delete, or configure their individual Outlook settings to automatically “opt-out” of, Palestinian rights (or any other) messages, management may not engage in selective censorship under the guise of additional, unfathomable, unspecified “op-out” procedures.

We call on management to rescind this ban, and respect our free speech rights.

Signers (List in Formation)
*Denotes Attorneys of Color of Legal Aid (ACLA) member

Michael Letwin
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Former President, ALAA/UAW 2325

Noha Arafa*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Azalia Torres*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Former Sr. Attorney & Attorneys of Color (ACLA) Rep., ALAA/UAW 2325

Noor Ahmad*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Susan Olivia Morris
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Alternate Vice President, ALAA/UAW 2325

Jane Sampeur*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Pooja Kothari*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Lucy Herschel
Criminal Defense-Queens
Delegate, 1199SEIU

Marlen S. Bodden*
Criminal Defense-Special Litigation
ALAA/UAW 2325

Nora Carroll
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Antonia Codling*
Criminal Defense-Bronx
Affirmative Action Rep., ALAA/UAW Local 2325

Laurie Dick
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Monica D. Dula*
Criminal Defense-Bronx
ALAA/UAW 2325

Lisa Edwards*
Civil-Harlem
ALAA/UAW 2325

Taylor James*
Housing Help Program, Civil-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Daniella Korotzer
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Former Vice President and Health & Safety Rep., ALAA/UAW 2325

Rebecca Kurti
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Patrick Langhenry
Civil-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Kristin Lew
Criminal Defense-Manhattan
Former Negotiating Committee Member, 1199SEIU

Florence Morgan*
Criminal Defense-Queens
ALAA/UAW 2325

Mimi Rosenberg
Civil-Brooklyn Neighborhood Office
ALAA/UAW 2325

Steve Terry
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Alexandra Smith
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Bahar Ansari*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Luke Schram
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Stephanie Pope
Criminal Defense-Staten Island
ALAA/UAW 2325

Brittany Thomas*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Antonio Villaamil*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Claire Nicolay
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Antoinette Kirwan*
Juvenile Rights-Bronx
ALAA/UAW 2325

Kathryn Thiesenhusen
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Lauren Katzman
Juvenile Rights-Broklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Elena Roberts
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Aurea Gonzalez
Paralegal 1
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Rigodis Appling*
Criminal Defense-Manhattan
Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Donella Green*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Dale Ventura*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Jawaid Stationwala*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Greg Johnston
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Katherine Fitzer
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Julie Fry
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Vice President, ALAA/UAW 2325

ManI Tafari*
Criminal Defense-Queens
ALAA/UAW 2325

Ferdinand Cesarano
Criminal Defense-Central Admin.
1199SEIU

Eric Meggett*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Steven Wasserman
Criminal Defense-Special Litigation
Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Willliam Brosh, LCSW
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Roslyn Morrison*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Lisa Pitts*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Titus Mathai*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Hilary Dowling
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Bridgett Holloman
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Anna Boksenbaum
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Alternate Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Steven Kliman
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Bernadette Jackson
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Joseph Lavine
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Asmika Dangol
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Claudia Diez
Paralegal II
Criminal Appeals
1199SEIU

Jeffrey Sugarman
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Adrian Lesher
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Grover Francis
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Alternate Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Scott Rudnick
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn|
ALAA/UAW 2325

Warren Deans
Criminal Defense-Central Admin.
1199SEIU

Steven Douglas Levine
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Lois Jackson
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Cynthia Pong*
Criminal Defense-Bronx
ALAA/UAW 2325

Erin M Bannister
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Genesis Fisher*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Tajuana B. Johnson*
Criminal Defense-Manhattan
ALAA/UAW 2325

Bina Ahmad*
Criminal Defense-Staten Island
ALAA/UAW 2325

Naila Siddiqui*
Parole Revocation Defense
Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Marie Mombrun*
Civil-Queens
Alt. Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Stephanie J. Fields
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Jacob Rolls
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Rumzi Araj
Criminal Defense-Bronx
Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Fazeela Siddiqui*
Civil-Queens
ALAA/UAW 2325

Zoie T. Mair*
Criminal Defense-Staten Island
ALAA/UAW 2325

Jeremiah Schlotman*
Civil-Brooklyn Neighborhood Office
ALAA/UAW 2325

Rodrigo Santelices*
Civil-Bronx
ALAA/UAW 2325

Anne Oredeko*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Junior Attorney Rep., ALAA/UAW 2325

Samantha Seda*
Criminal Defense-Queens
ALAA/UAW 2325

Ivan Pantoja*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Middle Attorney Rep., ALAA/UAW 2325

Shahar Azoulay*
Parole Revocation Defense
ALAA/UAW 2325

Andrea Ibrahim*
Criminal Defense-Staten Island
ALAA/UAW 2325

Femi Disu*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Affirmative Action Rep., ALAA/UAW 2325

Robert Newman
Criminal Defense-Special Litigation
ALAA/UAW 2325

Bobby Codjoe*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Cory Walker
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Daniel Moore
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Jason Wu*
Civil-HCLO
ALAA/UAW 2325

Mark Weiner
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Laura Rose Bull
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Delegate and Junior Attorney Alt. Rep., ALAA/UAW 2325

Alison Schill
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Kayla Simpson
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Bridgette Bissonnette
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
LGBT Caucus Alternate Rep., ALAA/UAW 2325

Alma Magaña*
Criminal Defense-Manhattan
Vice President, ALAA/UAW 2325

Candace Graff
Paralegal II
Juvenile Rights-Special Litigation
1199SEIU

Amy Dallas
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Susan Light
Criminal Defense-Bronx
ALAA/UAW 2325

Nadine Griffin
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Imtiaz Hossain*
Criminal Defense-Bronx
ALAA/UAW 2325

Svetlana M. Kornfeind
Criminal Appeals
ALAA/UAW 2325

Frederic Pratt
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Former Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Hernscica Vincent
Paralegal
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Joshua Carrin
Criminal Defense-Manhattan
Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Madeline Porta
Criminal Defense-Queens
ALAA/UAW 2325

Lori Masco
Juvenile Rights-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Melissa Leigh Ballowe
Criminal Defense-Manhattan
Alternate Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Alicia Thomas*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Cynthia LaCaprucia Taylor
Civil-Harlem
Alternate Vice President (Civil Div.), ALAA/UAW 2325

Juan Charbonier
Criminal Defense-Queens
1199SEIU

Hasan Shafiqullah*
Civil-Immigration Law
LGBT Caucus
Former delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Helen Frieder
Civil-Bronx
LGBT Caucus Alternate Rep., ALAA/UAW 2325

Nada Geha
Civil-Staten Island
ALAA/UAW 2325

Richard Blum
Civil-Employment Law
ALAA/UAW 2325

Young Woo Lee
Civil-Employment Law
Alternate Vice President (Civil Div.), ALAA/UAW 2325

Jane Fox
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Todd Smith
Juvenile-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Felicia Leak
Criminal Defense-Bronx
ALAA/UAW 2325

Jeremy E.W. Fredericksen
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Bridgett Holloman
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Mitchell Paolo Esteller*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Jodi Smith*
Criminal Defense-Bronx
ALAA/UAW 2325

Vanita Martin
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Monique Fleury-Brown
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Rachel Messer
Juvenile Rights-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Robert Soriano-Hewitt*
Civil-Bronx
ALAA/UAW 2325

Lauren Monosoff
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Margaret Garrett
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Crystal Baker-Burr
Juvenile Rights-Bronx
ALAA/UAW 2325

Genitha Wint
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Deborah Pollack|
Criminal Defense-Manhattan
1199SEIU

Bharati Narumanchi*
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Grace Oboma-Layat*
Juvenile Rights-Bronx
ALAA/UAW 2325

Robin Gordon Leavitt
Criminal Defense-Bronx
ALAA/UAW 2325

Erin Tomlinson
Criminal Defense-Bronx
ALAA/UAW 2325

Alix Willard
Criminal Defense-Bronx
Delegate, 1199SIEU

Makeysha Woodman
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Lejla Bajrami
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Leah Maloney
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Michelle McGrath
Criminal Defense-Manhattan
ALAA/UAW 2325

Yvonne Nix
Criminal Defense-Manhattan
ALAA/UAW 2235

Alyssa Cose-Primus
Forensic Social Worker
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Diane Akerman
Queens CDP
ALAA/UAW

Anthony Posada*
Queens CDP
ALAA/UAW

Valerie LeBrew
Civil-Queens
1199SEIU Delegate

Omar Garcia
Civil-Brooklyn
1199SEIU Delegate

Jamaal Burnside
Juvenile Rights-Brooklyn
1199SEIU Delegate

Aisha King
Criminal Defense-Staten Island
1199SEIU Delegate

Javier Chuck
Civil-Harlem
1199SEIU Delegate

Magnus Mukoro
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
1199SEIU Delegate

Shawn Bosler
Juvenile Rights-Bronx
1199SEIU

Terence Davidson
Criminal Defense-Central Admin.
1199SEIU

Anastasia Taketomo
Juvenile Rights-LGBT Law and Policy Initiative
1199SEIU

Mily Rosa
Criminal Defense-Queens
1199SEIU

Lasalle Jones
Criminal Defense-Bronx
1199SEIU

Adriano De Gennaro
Civil-Prisoners’ Rights
1199SEIU

Abida Chaudhry
Criminal Appeals
1199SEIU

Phillip Guttman
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Susan Yousefi
Civil-Brooklyn
1199SEIU

Joseph Rivera
Criminal Defense-Queens
1199SEIU

Liliana Canela
Civil-Queens
1199SEIU

Michael Pate
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
Delegate, ALAA/UAW 2325

Pauloma Martinez*
Criminal Defense-Queens
ALAA/UAW

Cheryl Williams*
Criminal Appeals
ALAA/UAW 2325

Emily Poppish
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Sarah Marie Young
Parole Revocation Defense
ALAA/UAW 2325

Jess Braverman
Juvenile Rights-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

Catheranne Wyly
Juvenile Rights-Manhattan
ALAA/UAW 2325

Susan Sternberg
Civil-Lower Manhattan
Alternate Senior Attorneys Representative, ALAA/UAW 2325

Joshua Norkin, Esq.
Criminal Defense-Bronx
ALAA/UAW 2325

Bridget McDevitt
Criminal Defense-Bronx
ALAA/UAW 2325

Catherine Norris
Civil-Harlem Community Law Office
ALAA/UAW 2325

Alexander Smith
Criminal Defense-Brooklyn
ALAA/UAW 2325

——————————­——————————­——————–
ATTACHMENTS

From: Fox, Allan
Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2014 4:16 PM
To: Letwin, Michael
Cc: Wright, Deborah
Subject: The Society’s email policy

In 2009 and 2013, The Legal Aid Society entered into agreements with the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys to achieve compliance with the Society’s longstanding e-mail policies and to clarify the parameters of Article 1.5 of the collective bargaining agreement with respect to ALAA’s use of the Society’s e-mail system.  (See copies of the attached agreements.)  The 2009 agreement provides that on an interim basis, the Society agrees to permit ALAA members to create personal e-mail groups, provided however that before and after setting up a personal e-mail group any and all potential or existing members of the personal e-mail group must be given an opportunity to opt out of the personal mail group.  Yesterday and today, we received several e-mails to ALAA members about a non-work-related matter sent by you involving the current situation in the Middle East, along with complaints from several ALAA members who received such communications who have elected to opt out of receiving them under the 2009 agreement.  As we have previously advised you, it is a violation of the Society’s e-mail policy and the 2009 agreement to send unwanted non-work-related communications to Society employees who have opted out of receiving such communications.  We are directing you to cease such actions and expect you to abide by your obligations under the 2009 agreement with ALAA and the Society’s e-mail policy. (Emphasis added.)

______________________________________________

From: Fox, Allan
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2014 3:05 PM
To: Herschel, Lucy
Subject: Email Policy & Usage

 

As we reiterated in an e-mail to all staff on June 26, The Legal Aid Society’s e-mail system is to be used for work-related communications. Our e-mail policy is clearly set forth in the Employee Handbook, which has been posted on LASnet for many years. Relevant portions were quoted in an e-mail today to all LAS staff. You recently sent a non-work-related e-mail communication to all ALAA and 1199 staff about recent events in the Middle East, and we have received a number of complaints from staff members who object to the communication. We are directing you to cease sending non-work-related communications that violate the policy and expect you to abide by your obligations under the Society’s e-mail policy. (Emphasis added.)

 

2013.05.30: Remembering Bob Zuss on his 70th Birthday (May 28)

rom: Letwin, Michael
Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2013 1:01 PM
To: 1199 Members; ALAA MEMBERS
Subject: Remembering Bob Zuss on his 70th Birthday (May 28)

For the final twenty years of his life, Robert Zuss (1943-2006) was a public defender at The Legal Aid Society in New York City.

Zuss helped forge leadership within the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys/UAW Local 2325 (ALAA) that promoted democratic decision-making; membership mobilization conducted jointly with support staff members of 1199SEIU; and racial, economic and social justice — at home and abroad.

http://bobzuss.wordpress.com/

2014.05.28: Remembering Bob Zuss on his 71st Birthday (May 28)

From: Letwin, Michael
Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2014 7:57 AM
To: 1199 Members; ALAA MEMBERS
Subject: Remembering Bob Zuss on his 71st Birthday (May 28)

For the final twenty years of his life, Robert Zuss (1943-2006) was a public defender at The Legal Aid Society in Brooklyn.

Zuss helped forge leadership within the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys/UAW Local 2325 (ALAA) that promoted bottom-up democratic decision-making; membership mobilization conducted jointly with support staff members of 1199SEIU; and racial, economic and social justice — at home and abroad.

More: http://bobzuss.wordpress.com/