Legal service workers protested outside Brooklyn Criminal Court and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office after a woman detained on low-level charges was forced to give birth in a courtroom just before midnight. The woman had been in custody for more than 24 hours and was unable to pick up her infant or remove her own clothing during labor. Her hands were cuffed behind her back, and she delivered on a courtroom bench without adequate medical care, privacy, or dignity. The Legal Aid Society said attorneys and staff witnessed the delivery surrounded by court personnel, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and others. A lawyer described the birth as joyful and sad, while a public defender disputed his account and called it violence. Protesters cited deaths while waiting for arraignments in the same building.
"Attorneys and staff from The Legal Aid Society and Brooklyn Defender Services who were present in the courtroom witnessed her labor and deliver her child on a courtroom bench without adequate medical care, privacy, or dignity, surrounded by court personnel, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and others. The woman had spent over 24 hours in custody, and was unable to pick up her infant or remove her own clothing as she gave birth."
"On Friday, a woman waiting to be arraigned on low-level charges was forced to give birth in court just before midnight in front of judges, attorneys, and court staff, with her hands cuffed behind her back. The woman's lawyer, Wynton Sharpe, claimed that she delivered a "bouncing baby boy," saying, "It was a joyful and sad situation, given the circumstances.""
"But a public defender with the Legal Aid Society who was in the courtroom, Jen Kovacs, said that Sharpe was not even there, and that his statement "misrepresents the reality in the courtroom that night, which was complete violence." At least 150 legal advocates, public defenders, and local lawmakers rallied against what the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys (ALAA) called "the dangerous conditions in Brooklyn Criminal Court arraignments that put New Yorkers at risk of harm and even death.""
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