The Legal Lens Podcast

216. Twyla Carter: The Legal Aid Society Reimagining Justice in New York and Beyond

Episode Summary

In this episode of The Legal Lens, Angela Reddock‑Wright talks with Twyla Carter, Attorney‑in‑Chief and CEO of the Legal Aid Society of New York City, the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit public defense and civil legal‑services provider. Twyla shares what it means now to lead Legal Aid at a moment she describes as “the civil rights war of our lifetime.” Twyla also walks listeners through Legal Aid’s 150‑year legacy, from the Willowbrook case on abusive state institutions to current litigation over Rikers Island and the right to shelter, and closes with a powerful reminder that while other institutions may be “folding,” Legal Aid is “built for this” and not going anywhere.

Episode Notes

In this episode of The Legal Lens, Angela Reddock‑Wright talks with Twyla Carter, Attorney‑in‑Chief and CEO of the Legal Aid Society of New York City, the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit public defense and civil legal‑services provider. Twyla shares what it means now to lead Legal Aid at a moment she describes as “the civil rights war of our lifetime.” Twyla also walks listeners through Legal Aid’s 150‑year legacy, from the Willowbrook case on abusive state institutions to current litigation over Rikers Island and the right to shelter, and closes with a powerful reminder that while other institutions may be “folding,” Legal Aid is “built for this” and not going anywhere.

Key Topics Covered

• Twyla’s path to law school and her decision to become a public defender, representing clients on a full range of cases—from misdemeanors and juvenile matters to serious felonies and appeals.
• Her later move into impact work challenging wealth‑based pretrial detention and reforms around the money-bail system which Twyla believes unfairly targets poor people.
• The Legal Aid Society of NY’s 150-year history and long legacy of impact litigation, including cases that exposed abusive conditions in state‑run institutions and led to courtordered reforms and oversight.
• Ongoing litigation targeting unconstitutional levels of violence and excessive force in New York City jails, particularly at Rikers Island, and the importance of remembering that many people held there are pretrial and have not been convicted of any crime.
• The Legal Aid Society’s role in establishing a right to shelter for adults and then for women and families, and Twyla’s framing of this moment as a “civil rights war” in which the organization is “built for this” and committed to standing in the gap despite growing funding pressures.