“Especially in the Trump era — where immigrants are afraid to have any encounter with law enforcement — this is more important than ever,” said Jack, an attorney with the Brooklyn Defender Services. “This has become really urgent and [the immigrant community is] an even more vulnerable community because it’s folks who aren’t citizens and don’t speak English as their first language. They aren’t aware that just because they aren’t citizens doesn’t mean they don’t have the same rights.”

Jack was invited, along with her colleagues Maurice Crawford and Hyisheem Calier, to the Brooklyn Bar Association, where they presented a two-hour “Know Your Rights” seminar on Monday night on what people should do during a police encounter.

The event was open to the public and drew members of local neighborhoods, but being as it was at the bar association there were also many lawyers and even judges in attendance. Still, Jack explained that community group leaders can take this information back to their groups and it never hurts for judges and attorneys to have a refresher on what people are going through.

“This is a crowd of folks who aren’t as accustomed to being stopped by the police,” Jack said. “Unfortunately, the people we represent and the majority of Brooklynites of color are stopped. We want people to feel empowered and that empowerment happens when you know what your rights are. There is a lot of confusion that can happen.”

Jack and her colleagues went through scenarios involving police officers during conversations with police, if they are detained by police and when they are arrested. Much of the presentation involved role playing with the attendees.

“It sounds weird, but when people practice it they do feel more empowered and I think it lessens that power imbalance in interactions,” Jack said. “I’m always surprised at how quickly we can crack people in role play. I needle them, ask them what their friend was doing and they eventually in role play give up a lot of information. It’s as simple as saying, ‘I want to remain silent and if you are going to arrest me I want to see a lawyer.’”

Fern Finkel, the chair of the association’s charitable arm, Foundation Law Committee, said that she got the idea for the program after talking with Lisa Schreibersdorf, the executive director of the Defender Services.

“People are always interested in topics when they don’t feel they know their full rights,” Finkel said. “We weren’t sure of the topic. We ran it through Lisa Schreibersdorf and we came up with this program. Lisa really embodies the vision of the Brooklyn Defender Services. We are privileged to have a resource like [Brooklyn Defender Services].”

For those who missed the program, the presentation was live streamed on Facebook by the Brooklyn Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service and an archive is available on Facebook.

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