Woman gives birth ‘on courtroom bench’ during arraignment in Brooklyn

A woman gave birth in a Brooklyn courtroom late Friday night, just hours after being discharged from a hospital, according to police and witnesses

A woman gave birth in a Brooklyn courtroom late Friday night, just hours after being discharged from a hospital, according to police and witnesses.

Subscribe to read this story ad-free

Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.

Samantha Randazzo, 33, went into labor during her arraignment on a drug charge and delivered her baby “on a courtroom bench without adequate medical care, privacy, or dignity,” according to a joint statement from the Legal Aid Society and multiple public defender organizations whose members witnessed the birth firsthand.

Randazzo’s attorney, Wynton Sharpe, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday. In a separate interview with The New York Times, he praised court officers who rushed to assist Randazzo when her water broke and described the situation as “joyful and sad.”