Who is NOD

Neville O. Mitchell was born in Kingston on the island of Jamaica on January 4, 1964 to Rosetta Hooker and David Augustus Mitchell, a police officer in the Jamaica Constabulary Force. He was raised by his mother until she left Jamaica seeking a better life in Canada and subsequently the United States of America.

After the departure of his mother Neville was raised primarily by his paternal grandmother, Agatha Mitchell. His police officer father was a constant presence. He had dine practically every evening at mama’s. The matriarch was also raising three other children who parents had likewise emigrated to the United States in search of a better life.

THE EARLY YEARS

As a child Neville (Nod) spent countless hours at Harman Barracks, a police station where his father worked. He showed promise from the beginning as a student. In 1975 he passed the Island Wide Common Entrance Examination and won a place at the country’s prestigious Kington College (KC), an all-boys high. There Neville would meet future leaders of the country had the school’s motto emblazoned forever in his heart. That motto, “Fortis Cadere Cedere Non Potest”, means “the brave may fall but never yield”. Neville has fallen, as we all have; but true his foundation and the KC creedo has never yielded. In 1977 Neville emigrated to the United States with his younger brother to join their mother, Rosetta. He quickly demonstrated his scholastic aptitude again. He was named class Valedictorian of Olinville Junior High School 113 and won a place at the Bronx High School of Science, graduating in 1982. Mr. Mitchell entered The City College of New York in 1982. While at City College, he was a vigorous student advocate, serving as president of the Caribbean Students’ Association, Director of the Legal Center and ultimately Student Ombudsman. Other influences in Mr. Mitchell’s education included Haywood Burns, David Garrow, Professor Edward Scobie and Professor James Smalls, and other professors in the African American Studies Department. He graduated Cum Laude in 1987 with a Liberal Arts degree majoring in Speech Communications. Three years later he graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law at Baltimore with a Juris Doctor. He was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1991 and has been in practice 34 thirty-four years ago.

LEGAL CAREER

Mr. Mitchell first taste of a legal career was in the Law Office of C. Vernon Mason. That opportunity was short lived. He began his legal career as a staff Attorney in the Judgment Enforcement Unit in the Department of Housing Preservation and Development of the City of New York (D.H.P.D). In that capacity, he enforced judgments obtained against landlords who failed to maintain their apartment buildings up to Code or provide heat and hot water to their tenants. He later transferred to the Housing Litigation Bureau. As a staff attorney, he sued landlords who failed to provide essential services to their tenants. In 1994 Mr. Mitchell resigned his position with D.H.P.D and became a solo legal practitioner, opening an office in Bronx County. He practiced in the areas of Housing and Criminal law. In 1999 he moved his practice to New York County. Since then he has practiced almost exclusively as a Criminal Defense Attorney. He has handled thousands of cases throughout New York State. His practice included misdemeanors but focused on serious felonies. In particular Mr. Mitchell is experienced in litigating homicide cases. His civil practice included Civil rights claims. He was honored to represent the parents of the late Sean Bell – the groom killed by New York City Police Officers on the eve of his wedding in the fall of 2006. He also represented Constance Malcolm, the mother of Ramarley Graham another youth killed by an New York City Police Department officer. An advocate at heart, Mr. Mitchell represented those parents and was unrelenting in his pursuit for justice. To that end he organized the 24-hour fifty-day vigil in Queens when Sean Elijah was killed. He believes that race, class, and economics play too large a role in the dispensing of justice in our system. Mr. Mitchell has written several articles in this area including “Kenny get your gun and other musings”, “Tintinnabulation: For whom Sean’s Bells toll”. From 2019 to 2021 Mr. Mitchell was an Anchor in the Homicide Defense Task Force of the Legal Aid Society (HDTF).  As an Anchor he lead individual teams responsible for defending the most serious homicides in New York City. Nod then worked briefly for the Youth Defense Center in Bronx County defending Juveniles accused of very serious crimes. Thereafter he returned to private practice thereafter.

EDUCATOR

Mr. Mitchell is a strong advocate of Education as a vital component for success in life’s journey. Between 1999 and 2001 he worked as a teacher for the Board of Education. He initially worked as a substitute teacher at E.B.C. East New York, an alternative School in Brooklyn. Later he taught at the Horizon Academy on Riker’s Island. His students were incarcerated young people who were awaiting trial. The instruction prepared them for the General Equivalency Diploma Test. He served as the site coordinator at the Otis Bantum Correctional Facility. Throughout his higher education and legal career, Mr. Mitchell has mentored many young people. While in law school, he helped found a tutoring and mentoring program at Booker T. Washington Middle school in Baltimore. In his practice, he mentored youth in the summer through internships at his office.

AFFILIATIONS

Mr. Mitchell has been a commentator on legal issues on a community based radio program on 93.5., Arise Television, NY1, and other local programs such as the Inclusion Show. He has had a number of articles published in the Black Star News, and Amsterdam News. He is or has been a member of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the New York State Bar Association, the Criminal Bar Association of the City of New York, the Bronx County Bar Association, and the New York County Lawyer’s Association. He was a founding member of the now inactive Caribbean American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Mr. Mitchell lives in Harlem; he is blessed with two beautiful young adult daughters. He remains in private practice representing individuals charged with serious felonies.