Legal Aid Society: NYC Department of Corrections should be held in contempt for inhumane jail conditions News
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Legal Aid Society: NYC Department of Corrections should be held in contempt for inhumane jail conditions

New York nonprofit organizations the Legal Aid Society (LAS) and Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS) Monday filed an order to show cause for contempt against the NYC Department of Corrections (DOC) for failing to comply with a December 2021 court order requiring it to provide access to medical care to persons incarcerated in New York City jails. The case is in the Supreme Court for the State of New York, County of the Bronx.

After a class action lawsuit against the DOC on behalf of persons who are or will be in DOC custody, the court ordered the DOC to pay petitioners $100 for “each missed escort to the infirmary, from December 11, 2021 through January 2022.” The order resulted from the DOC failing to comply with its statutory duties to provide access to medical care for incarcerated persons. These statutory duties include 40 RCNY 3-02 and Correction Law § 500-c(4).

The memorandum supporting LAS and BDS’ order to show cause asserts that since the previous court order, inmates have died in DOC custody due to failure to comply with its statutory duties. The memo documents 12,354 instances of staff denying medical care to incarcerated persons from December 2021 to October 2022. Additionally, the memo claims that there are still delays and “outright denial to access” to medical care.

LAS and BDS asked the court to hold the DOC in civil contempt for failing to comply with the previous court order requiring immediate compliance with its duty to provide access to medical care. The petitioners also requested that the court raise the compensatory fines for each aggrieved class member from $100 to $250 per violation. Lastly, the petitioners asked the court to hold an evidentiary hearing to set a “population cap” on jail capacity and possibly order a reduction in jail population to achieve the cap.

In September 2022, the LAS reported that data from the Department of Criminal Justice Services shows the success of New York’s 2019 bail reform law.

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