Kramer Levin’s Pro Bono Partnership with Brooklyn Defender Services’ Bail Initiative Highlighted in The Atlantic

The Atlantic recently highlighted Kramer Levin’s pro bono partnership with Brooklyn Defender Services in an article titled “The Failure of New York’s Bail Law.” The article profiles this unique partnership, which seeks to challenge the manner in which cash bail is imposed in the Kings County criminal courts.  Despite the fact that the New York bail statute permits courts to set bail in a variety of forms tailored to the means of a particular defendant, courts regularly do not consider those alternatives and instead set cash bail beyond the means of indigent defendants, leaving them incarcerated in Riker’s Island Prison as they await trial.  As part of the partnership, attorneys from Kramer Levin help build the case for reduced or alternative forms of bail for indigent defendants charged with felony offenses, present the bail argument before Kings County Supreme Court, and, if the application is denied, petition for habeas corpus review in the lower court or Appellate Division.

Kramer Levin’s participation in this initiative is being supervised by partner Darren LaVerne, and includes, among others, associates Alejandro Ortega, Daniel Ketani, Jennifer Klein, Michelle Ben-David and Rey Watson.  The Atlantic article noted two cases that Kramer Levin has worked on, one argued by Alejandro Ortega in both Kings County Supreme Court and in the Appellate Division, and one recently argued by Daniel Ketani in Kings County Supreme Court.