New York Woman Gave Birth in a Crowded Courtroom During her Arraignment on Drug Charges

A woman from New York gave birth to a baby boy in the middle of a packed Brooklyn courtroom, while she was waiting to be arraigned on a drug possession charge. She was handcuffed and kept in legal custody for 24 hours, according to the statement of a legal aid group.

A 33-year-old woman from New York, identified as Samantha Randazzo, went into labor in a fully packed courtroom on the evening of May 15th. According to a statement from the group of public defenders and legal advocates, Randazzo went into labor and was forced to give birth on the bench of the Brooklyn court, “without adequate medical care, privacy or dignity.” Randazzo was surrounded by police officers, prosecutors, and court personnel, who allegedly joked about the situation, according to the statement of the legal group.

Randazzo was awaiting arraignment in Brooklyn criminal court on May 15th on a drug possession charge, according to a joint statement from the Legal Aid Society and several other public defender organizations. “She deserved care, compassion, safety, and dignity. Instead, she was subjected to trauma and humiliation in full public view,” according to the statement released by the legal aid group.

Randazzo’s lawyer, Wynton Sharpe, stated that Randazzo’s water broke just before midnight while she was seated on the bench. According to the reports of The New York Times, Sharpe said, “We saw it. She didn’t even have to say anything; we were like, okay, this is happening like now.”

“It was a joyful and sad situation given the circumstances.”

Randazzo was arrested on the evening of May 14th, when the police saw two people on the rooftop of a public housing complex in Sheepshead Bay with a controlled substance, “in plain view,” according to the New York Police Department. She was charged with drug possession and trespassing.

During a search, the officers claimed that they found a small amount of heroin and cocaine on her. Randazzo was not eligible for a desk appearance ticket, which would allow her to return to court at a future date, because she had an open warrant for her arrest. She was transported to a nearby hospital, then discharged 30 hours later and taken to the courthouse for arraignment.

“A child entered the world in a courtroom, while their mother was in chains,” according to the joint statement from the Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, New York County Defender Services, the Bronx Defenders, and Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem.