CWP Film Center Screening of No Accident

A documentary chronicling the seminal civil rights trial that stemmed from the deadly "Unite the Right" white nationalist rally in 2017, giving a behind-the-scenes look at this groundbreaking case and efforts to stand up to hate.

Our film screening will be followed by a talk back with NY State Assembly candidate Eli Northrup, journalist and commentator Jelani Cobb, director Kristi Jacobson, and attorney Michael Bloch.

About Panelists
Eli Northrup is a public defender and policy advocate who has spent his career fighting for equity and social justice in New York. He is also the current Democratic Nominee for State Assembly in the 69th Assembly District on the Upper West Side and Morningside Heights. For over a decade Eli has worked as a public defender in criminal court, representing thousands of individuals who are unable to afford an attorney. As Policy Director for the Criminal Defense Practice at The Bronx Defenders, Eli led a team of advocates advancing policies to bring fairness and dignity to our criminal legal system. Eli has been instrumental in legislative reforms to increase transparency and due process in our legal system. A key figure in the campaign for marijuana justice, he helped to found the Bronx Cannabis Hub. Eli received his J.D. from NYU Law and his B.A. from Cornell University.

Michael Bloch is an accomplished criminal defense and civil rights attorney with an unparalleled record of courtroom success. Prior to launching his own law firm Bloch & White LLP in 2022, Michael practiced at Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP and served as one of the lead attorneys in Sines v. Kessler, featured in “No Accident.” Before Kaplan Hecker, Michael spent over 7 years as a public defender at the Bronx Defenders, where he represented hundreds of clients charged with criminal matters, and 3 years at Williams & Connolly LLP. Michael graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and received his B.A. in Government from Wesleyan University. After law school, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Chief Judge Helen Ginger Berrigan on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana and subsequently to the Honorable Diane P. Wood on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Michael has been a member of the faculty of the leading trial advocacy schools in the country, including Harvard Law School’s Trial Advocacy Workshop and the National Criminal Defense College. Michael is proud to serve as a board member of the Bronx Defenders. His writings have appeared in the New York Times, USA Today, New York Daily News, Bloomberg Law, National Law Journal, The Champion and The Forward.