Watch a replay of the Virtual Rally that was held on January 5th HERE.
Director Beverley Brakeman had the chance to speak during the rally. Here are her remarks:
Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today.
What a scary time we find ourselves in once again.
UAW Local 2325 attorneys and staff have been doing tremendous work managing through this pandemic, returning to work and are now facing a third wave that is far more contagious and systemically dangerous then prior variants.
UAW Region 9A stands with our staff and attorneys in this fight. The office of Court Administration must return to virtual arraignments during this wave of the pandemic.
Keeping the courts open, when for more than one year, arraignments were virtual with barely a glitch, is irresponsible to attorneys, legal aid and court staff, defendants and the entire incarcerated population.
Given that a minimum of 25% of incarcerated individuals in NYC alone are currently Covid-19 positive, we are needlessly exposing everyone to this virus and in turn furthering the spread throughout the entire criminal justice system.
And to what end?
UAW has worked tirelessly to train and educate our members on proper ventilation and health and safety measures, yet OCA and DCAS refuse to have the courts examined and inspected for safety.
This is suspicious, highly questionable and particularly egregious given the times we are in.
Not only are people getting sick and endangering themselves and their families, OCA is creating a situation where the proper mitigation of justice and due diligence under the law is challenged. As public defenders and staff, with the knowledge to ensure a fair and just arraignment process, fall ill, we risk the system’s integrity.
The fact that anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers are everywhere including the DOC and NYPD where many refuse to properly wear masks, only serves to further endanger everyone.
Enough is enough OCA – You did virtual arraignments once and you can do them again.