Sam Feldman
@srfeld.bsky.social
Appellate public defender, trade unionist, NYC-DSA member. Washingtonian by birth, Chicago alum. He/him. Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto.
The modern private prison industry started in Tennessee in the 1980s and spread to the rest of the U.S. & a few other countries. But private prisons themselves weren’t new; this is what they looked like in 18th century England, as described by Australian historian Robert Hughes in “The Fatal Shore.”
November 17, 2025 at 7:18 AM
The modern private prison industry started in Tennessee in the 1980s and spread to the rest of the U.S. & a few other countries. But private prisons themselves weren’t new; this is what they looked like in 18th century England, as described by Australian historian Robert Hughes in “The Fatal Shore.”
Reading a medieval history (Christendom by Peter Heather), I was struck by this point about how literacy really encompasses two skills, reading and composition, that can be acquired by different people for different purposes. Thinking about this while editing students’ writing…
October 31, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Reading a medieval history (Christendom by Peter Heather), I was struck by this point about how literacy really encompasses two skills, reading and composition, that can be acquired by different people for different purposes. Thinking about this while editing students’ writing…
The grand public ceremonies for the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge were scheduled for May 24, 1883. Everyone in New York was looking forward to it except the Irish (from
The Great Bridge by David McCullough):
The Great Bridge by David McCullough):
September 28, 2025 at 8:29 PM
The grand public ceremonies for the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge were scheduled for May 24, 1883. Everyone in New York was looking forward to it except the Irish (from
The Great Bridge by David McCullough):
The Great Bridge by David McCullough):
There are some shows I’ll miss, but it feels good to be part of a broader phenomenon that’s ruining some Disney executives’ month.
September 22, 2025 at 2:05 AM
There are some shows I’ll miss, but it feels good to be part of a broader phenomenon that’s ruining some Disney executives’ month.
I just got solicited for money by Justin Klekota, who’s running for at-large city council in Somerville, MA where I used to live. Apparently he makes a habit of getting into stupid arguments with random people who rely to his fundraising texts!
August 28, 2025 at 8:09 PM
I just got solicited for money by Justin Klekota, who’s running for at-large city council in Somerville, MA where I used to live. Apparently he makes a habit of getting into stupid arguments with random people who rely to his fundraising texts!
The Times appears to be lifting this quote from @thecity.nyc and altering it to make it even more ridiculous. Brill actually said in Chinese culture it’s common to give gifts of money “to others,” not to reporters. www.thecity.nyc/2025/08/20/w...
August 21, 2025 at 2:39 AM
The Times appears to be lifting this quote from @thecity.nyc and altering it to make it even more ridiculous. Brill actually said in Chinese culture it’s common to give gifts of money “to others,” not to reporters. www.thecity.nyc/2025/08/20/w...
Don't mean to get into a back and forth about the Evanston zoning code but I read this to mean a type 1 restaurant has to have waiter service
August 15, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Don't mean to get into a back and forth about the Evanston zoning code but I read this to mean a type 1 restaurant has to have waiter service
Ironically this anti-Zohran poster claims he “has no idea what a bread line looks like” in front of a photo of people lined up for, according to the Russian sign, sausages
August 13, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Ironically this anti-Zohran poster claims he “has no idea what a bread line looks like” in front of a photo of people lined up for, according to the Russian sign, sausages
24 years after 9/11 and we’re apparently still doing this
August 9, 2025 at 3:47 PM
24 years after 9/11 and we’re apparently still doing this
The mother subjected to ACS supervision in this case, who was accused only of *being a victim of domestic violence* at the hands of her partner who was ordered to stay away from her home, gave this harrowing explanation of how the city agency interfered with her life.
![In June 2024, after the mother was assigned counsel, she moved to vacate the January 3, 2024 order’s provision for ACS supervision. In her affidavit, she stated that she and the child had been subjected to over 15 announced and unannounced home visits by an ACS caseworker in a six-month period. During those visits, the caseworker
searched every room in the mother’s home, inspected the contents of her refrigerator, and closely inspected the child’s body.2 The mother described the searches as “traumatizing,” “intrusive and humiliating,” said they reminded her “of the fear and anxiety of being abused” by the father, and “brought [her] back to a dark place where [she] was forced to think about the abuse” by the father. She further stated that ACS supervision had a substantial negative impact on her ability to have friends and family visit her and her child, to control her schedule, and “to live freely.” In addition, she missed overtime opportunities at work in order for ACS to conduct home visits. The mother’s description in her affidavit of multiple announced and unannounced caseworker visits and surveillance of the intimate aspects of the family’s daily life3 is consistent with statements in the amicus brief of Sanctuary for Families that actions taken by ACS during ACS supervision sometimes mimic the coercive control exercised
2 This is consistent with Sanctuary for Families’ observation that home inspections can be deeply upsetting for children, as children can be expected to remove as much clothing, including underwear, as the worker deems necessary, and to allow total strangers to examine their bodies (Amicus Br. of Sanctuary for Families at 21 [citing Hum. Rts. Watch, “If I Wasn’t Poor, I Wouldn’t Be Unfit”: The Family Separation Crisis in the US Child Welfare System [Nov. 2022], available at:
https://www.hrw.org/report/2022/11/17/if-i-wasnt-poor-i-wouldnt-be-unfit/familyseparation-crisis-us-child-welfare [last accessed Apr. 15, 2025]).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7yb5sbwnqqimcmex5ay3xgjb/bafkreibqtph2em4wq7z3pzfjcxnlofsas5lmokczjpvc5zsv3vkhlfhs3a@jpeg)
![by an abusive partner, including by regulating the nonrespondent’s daily activities or intruding on the nonrespondent parent’s autonomy in other ways. For example, ACS may require the nonrespondent parent to seek shelter or an order of protection when these are not safe options under the circumstances (Amicus Br. of Sanctuary for Families at 10-11 [citing The “Failure to Protect” Working Group, Charging Battered Mothers With “Failure to Protect”: Still Blaming the Victim, 27 Fordham Urb. L.J. 849, 855 (2000)]). In addition, as the mother in this case experienced and as Sanctuary for Families point out, compliance with ACS supervision can become “a full-time job,” and worsen economic harms typically caused by abuse (Amicus Br. of Sanctuary for Families at 12-13, citing Patricia Fersch, Why Doesn’t the Severe Harm and Costs of Domestic Violence Result in More Women Going to Court?, Forbes [Dec. 13, 2023] [citing research finding that domestic violence causes survivors to lose 8 million days of work each year and results in loss of jobs for 21%-60% of survivors], available at:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/patriciafersch/2023/12/13/why-doesnt-the-severeharm-and-costs-of-domestic-violence-result-in-more-women-going-to-court/ [last accessed Apr. 15, 2025]). The resulting economic hardship disproportionately affects people of color, members of other historically marginalized communities and those of low-income. As addressed by Sanctuary for Families, they are “more likely to already be living in difficult economic situations, and more likely to face additional economic hardship as a result of their being abused” (Amicus Br. of Sanctuary for Families at 16, citing New York City Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence, Report on the Intersection of Domestic Violence, Race/Ethnicity and Sex [2020]).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7yb5sbwnqqimcmex5ay3xgjb/bafkreifrffd6ay6br2fqg4o6lz5plkvf6bq4soqgsrgl743rc7j5ehdfny@jpeg)
July 25, 2025 at 2:38 PM
The mother subjected to ACS supervision in this case, who was accused only of *being a victim of domestic violence* at the hands of her partner who was ordered to stay away from her home, gave this harrowing explanation of how the city agency interfered with her life.
For example, voters in an exit poll said they trusted Cuomo and Mamdani equally on crime & public safety. But when given both candidates’ platforms on this issue, they preferred Mamdani’s—and did so much more when the platforms were presented without candidate names.
July 6, 2025 at 8:26 PM
For example, voters in an exit poll said they trusted Cuomo and Mamdani equally on crime & public safety. But when given both candidates’ platforms on this issue, they preferred Mamdani’s—and did so much more when the platforms were presented without candidate names.
If you want to email @jessicaramosqns.bsky.social to demand a donation refund, unfortunately there’s no email address on her website. Fortunately all campaigns have to list a contact email on the Campaign Finance Board’s website. Jessica seems to have chosen to publicly list her personal email.
June 6, 2025 at 1:12 PM
If you want to email @jessicaramosqns.bsky.social to demand a donation refund, unfortunately there’s no email address on her website. Fortunately all campaigns have to list a contact email on the Campaign Finance Board’s website. Jessica seems to have chosen to publicly list her personal email.
Would not have thought it was possible but Charles Schwab has one-upped that fake holiday
May 1, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Would not have thought it was possible but Charles Schwab has one-upped that fake holiday
Workers at NYC's public defender & civil legal services offices (nearly all of which are now unionized) are holding a picket at 1pm on May Day in support of sectoral bargaining. On Friday the head of @legalaidnyc.bsky.social, the largest org, sent out this funny attempt to counterprogram the picket:
April 29, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Workers at NYC's public defender & civil legal services offices (nearly all of which are now unionized) are holding a picket at 1pm on May Day in support of sectoral bargaining. On Friday the head of @legalaidnyc.bsky.social, the largest org, sent out this funny attempt to counterprogram the picket:
Michael "the Bull" Lamonsoff would never
April 14, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Michael "the Bull" Lamonsoff would never
In 1903 it was considered so improper for a wealthy industrialist to lobby against a bill by sending telegrams to senators that Roosevelt (somewhat inaccurately) complaining about it helped get the bill passed. (From The Power and the Money by Tevi Troy)
March 30, 2025 at 10:57 PM
In 1903 it was considered so improper for a wealthy industrialist to lobby against a bill by sending telegrams to senators that Roosevelt (somewhat inaccurately) complaining about it helped get the bill passed. (From The Power and the Money by Tevi Troy)
From @grahamrayman.bsky.social & @reuvenblau.bsky.social’s excellent oral history of Rikers Island, I learned of the legendary Ronald Tackmann, known for his many escapes from Rikers Island. Surprised he doesn’t have a Wikipedia page. Here’s the story of one of his more successful escapes:
March 12, 2025 at 1:12 PM
From @grahamrayman.bsky.social & @reuvenblau.bsky.social’s excellent oral history of Rikers Island, I learned of the legendary Ronald Tackmann, known for his many escapes from Rikers Island. Surprised he doesn’t have a Wikipedia page. Here’s the story of one of his more successful escapes:
Here's another example of this common idea that "inferior" judges somehow have less power than the Supreme Court. It's true the Supreme Court can overrule lower courts—that's what inferior means. It doesn't mean they have any less power to order me or you or the government around.
March 5, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Here's another example of this common idea that "inferior" judges somehow have less power than the Supreme Court. It's true the Supreme Court can overrule lower courts—that's what inferior means. It doesn't mean they have any less power to order me or you or the government around.
Not the biggest problem here, but Alito falls prey to a common American misconception: the idea that only SCOTUS has power to make important decisions & lower courts are just some kind of rehearsal stage. In fact, "a single district-court judge" has ~just as much injunctive power as SCOTUS.
March 5, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Not the biggest problem here, but Alito falls prey to a common American misconception: the idea that only SCOTUS has power to make important decisions & lower courts are just some kind of rehearsal stage. In fact, "a single district-court judge" has ~just as much injunctive power as SCOTUS.
The NYC probation report form treats any alcohol use as "substance abuse," which leads to ridiculous entries like this. I can just imagine the conversation. "Yes, since I was age 1-15, I have occasionally used two margaritas via oral intake." "I see. Are you currently using two margaritas?" "False."
March 3, 2025 at 8:34 PM
The NYC probation report form treats any alcohol use as "substance abuse," which leads to ridiculous entries like this. I can just imagine the conversation. "Yes, since I was age 1-15, I have occasionally used two margaritas via oral intake." "I see. Are you currently using two margaritas?" "False."
Came across this breathtaking arrogance from a Manhattan homicide prosecutor in a case from the mid-1980s. Have to assume part of the explanation here is that the judge was a woman (uncommon at the time) and the prosecutor a man.
![Additionally, we find that the prosecutor's habit (see, e.g. at pages 238, 356, and 370) of repeating answers of witnesses in succeeding questions constituted error. The following exchange between the Trial Court and the prosecutor indicates that, when the Trial Court attempted to point out to the prosecutor that this practice constituted error, and that he should stop it, the prosecutor arrogantly rejected the offered correction (TT at pages 600–601):
“THE COURT: I'm telling you now Mr. [Assistant District Attorney], the next time you repeat an answer of a witness for emphasis, I'll declare a mistrial. Is that clear? Is that clear?
ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Your Honor, this is cross-examination, no?
THE COURT: I don't care what it is.
ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Your Honor, you'll do what you have to do. Okay?
THE COURT: Cross-examination—
ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY: If he has an objection, you do what you have to do.
THE COURT: Cross-examination consists of the questions, not repeating the answers.
ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY: You'll do what you have to do, Judge.
THE COURT: Now, step up. Off the record.
*202 ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Your Honor, I don't care to go off the record any more.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7yb5sbwnqqimcmex5ay3xgjb/bafkreibsdu56nyuqaov5kaqxlpfa4djp55kvbsxxn6irngw4etnh7ukl5e@jpeg)
February 11, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Came across this breathtaking arrogance from a Manhattan homicide prosecutor in a case from the mid-1980s. Have to assume part of the explanation here is that the judge was a woman (uncommon at the time) and the prosecutor a man.
Imagine discovering & digging up a time capsule from 5,000 years ago only to find people from the distant past were real downers. www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
February 10, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Imagine discovering & digging up a time capsule from 5,000 years ago only to find people from the distant past were real downers. www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Last year, a Brooklyn family court judge issued a similar decision noting that ACS "typically" asks for supervision orders over non-respondent parents (those accused of nothing) in certain circumstances. It ruled that the relevant law "has been misunderstood and misapplied in countless cases."
February 6, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Last year, a Brooklyn family court judge issued a similar decision noting that ACS "typically" asks for supervision orders over non-respondent parents (those accused of nothing) in certain circumstances. It ruled that the relevant law "has been misunderstood and misapplied in countless cases."
Attitudes on this topic have really changed since the 1990s
December 27, 2024 at 6:12 PM
Attitudes on this topic have really changed since the 1990s
Burst out laughing when I read this cop's testimony. I have never seen such a beautiful example of Police English as "I tactically walked up to him calmly."
December 13, 2024 at 1:36 AM
Burst out laughing when I read this cop's testimony. I have never seen such a beautiful example of Police English as "I tactically walked up to him calmly."