Members of New York City’s main public defenders union and legal advocacy groups gathered outside Brooklyn courthouses on May 18, rallying over what they called a preventable medical crisis inside the criminal court system: a 33-year-old woman giving birth on a courtroom bench while awaiting arraignment on low-level charges.
The Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys (ALAA)–UAW Local 2325, The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, and local lawmakers joined the demonstration outside the Brooklyn Central Courts Building at 120 Schermerhorn St. and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office in downtown Brooklyn in support of Samantha Randazzo, who delivered a baby boy at Brooklyn Criminal Court late last Friday night.
Randazzo was arrested last Thursday on drug possession and trespassing charges. While in NYPD custody, she reportedly told officers she was pregnant and feeling ill and was taken to South Brooklyn Health in Coney Island at 3:30 a.m. on Friday. She was discharged from the hospital Friday evening at around 8 p.m. and taken to court. Her water broke at about 11:30 p.m., and she gave birth to her son shortly before midnight.
She went into labor and delivered her child on a courtroom bench while in shackles and handcuffed, without adequate medical care or privacy, and while surrounded by court personnel, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers, according to a joint statement by The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, New York County Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, and Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem.
The statement also alleges that courtroom staff joked during the incident and that legal proceedings and prosecutorial decisions continued while Randazzo endured an active medical emergency.
Kendall Cox, a staff attorney with Brooklyn Defenders, and Legal Aid Society paralegal Elena Beeley were in the courtroom when Randazzo gave birth. Cox told the crowd that no words could “adequately” express what she witnessed, describing giving birth in handcuffs in a courtroom as the “greatest indignity.”
“She deserved to give birth under the care of medical professionals in a sterile environment with the support, safety, and privacy that all giving birth should receive,” Cox said. “To say that the courthouse was transformed into a labor and delivery unit makes a mockery of the condition she endured.”
Beeley described the event as “deeply troubling.” She told Brooklyn Paper it was apparent that Randazzo was experiencing a medical emergency and delivered her child into her sweatpants.
“She had already delivered before an officer managed to make it to her person to help her with the baby,” Beeley recalled, estimating it took about 10 minutes for any medical staff to arrive and an additional 10 minutes for an ambulance to come.
Al Baker, a spokesperson for the Office of Court Administration, disputed the account. He told Brooklyn Paper in a statement that Randazzo was not in shackles and was handcuffed, though not to the bench. He said that when Unified Court System officers noticed Randazzo was in distress, they moved to comfort and assist her.
“When it became clear she was in labor, police officers removed her handcuffs; so, she had no cuffs on, at all, when the Court Officers successfully delivered the baby,” he wrote. “Our team of uniformed UCS officers acted with swift professionalism to ensure the safety and sanctity of life for all individuals in Court on Friday, personifying the everyday virtues of their sworn service. We are delighted both mother and baby are well.”
Council Member Shahana Hanif (D-Brooklyn) called the incident “despicable.”
“It is a tragedy that a young woman was in an open court awaiting a prosecution, as opposed to getting protection from a hospital,” Hanif said, demanding accountability. “We know that the Brooklyn court has had a record of negligence, a record of not giving medical attention when needed, a record of looking the other way when a patient needed hospital care. We are done with that system.”
Former New York City Comptroller and candidate for New York’s 10th Congressional District Brad Lander said Friday’s event was “extraordinarily egregious.”
“How our systems could allow for someone who was in distress, for someone who was ill, for someone who had been admitted to a hospital to instead be forced to come here in handcuffs and give birth while being arraigned is something that should shock the conscience of all New Yorkers,” Lander said.
Legal advocates also condemned systemic failures within New York City’s court system. Since March 2025, three people have died at Brooklyn Criminal Court, and others have been denied medical care, they said. The group pointed to cases earlier this year in which hundreds of Brooklyn residents were held for more than 24 hours before seeing a judge, despite many being eligible for immediate release under city law and not requiring detention or central booking.
Advocates called for an end to arraignments for low-level offenses, which they say contribute to courthouse backlogs, for the reinstatement of medical personnel in city courthouses, and for a full investigation of the NYPD, the Office of Court Administration, New York City Health and Hospitals, and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.
Frances Grail-Bingham, a staff attorney for The Legal Aid Society, recalled that she was present when Legal Aid client Christopher Nieves died in police custody at Brooklyn Criminal Court on Aug. 29, 2025. She said others in custody have also experienced medical emergencies.
“What happened on Friday is shocking, but not surprising. It’s not the first time horrible torture has been inflicted on someone for no reason in this building, and it won’t be the last unless we make it,” she said, urging lawmakers to act “today, not tomorrow.”
She also noted that the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office could decline to prosecute low-level offenses. A spokesperson for the office told Brooklyn Paper that Randazzo’s charges were dismissed.
Olga Karounos, a staff attorney for The Legal Aid Society, told Brooklyn Paper that most people in Brooklyn Criminal Court are charged with low-level offenses such as turnstile jumping or taking up two seats on the subway, and that many of these cases are dismissed immediately when defendants appear before a judge.
“There’s no reason why someone has to spend 24, 48, or potentially 72 hours for taking up two seats on the subway to ultimately have that case dismissed,” Karounos said. “They could just write you a ticket, you pay a fine, or you could go to court, summons court, and fight it. The second option is they can offer you a desk appearance ticket, which they could up the charges to something more serious.”
