Bronx DA Darcel D. Clark, Judges and Bronx Defense Bar Demand That Gov. Cuomo Include Them as Eligible for the COVID-19 Vaccine

From left to right: Marvin Ray Raskin, representing 18B Panel and private criminal defense lawyers; Peter Jones, Attorney-in-Charge of the Bronx Criminal Defense Practice for Legal Aid Society; Justine Olderman, Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders; Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark; Hon. George Grasso, Supervising Judge of Bronx Criminal Court; Hon. Julio Rodriguez III, Administrative Judge of Bronx County Supreme Court.

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark said, “The Bronx has one of the highest rates of COVID-19 in New York State. My staff, judges and defense attorneys as well as other court personnel put their health at risk when they come into the courthouse. My Assistant District Attorneys and other professional staff, such as grand jury stenographers and interpreters, have been interfacing in person with grand jury panels for weeks now. With jury trials set to resume in two weeks, they all deserve protection and need to be included as eligible for the vaccine. I call on Gov. Cuomo to make Bronx criminal justice stakeholders eligible for the vaccine now.”