Brooklyn public defenders threaten to strike Thursday

Hundreds of staff members and attorneys at Brooklyn Defender Services may walk off the job on Thursday after their union authorized a potential strike. The public defenders represent thousands of low-income Brooklyn and Queens defendants in court who cannot afford their own attorneys. "The idea of my clients standing in court without me is not something I ever want them to have," Julia Coppelman, a senior staff attorney in criminal defense at Brooklyn Defender Services and strike captain, told NY1. Attorneys, represented by the United Auto Workers Local 2325, authorized a strike to take place at 8 a.m. on Thursday...