On January 23, 2019, six indigent prison inmates with mental illness whom the defendants held in secure prisons past their release dates filed this class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, on behalf of other prisoners in similar situations. The plaintiffs sued the Governor of New York, the New York State Office of Mental Health, Commissioner, Associate Commissioner, and the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision ("DOCCS"), alleging that the defendants failed to make available community-based housing and supportive services that the plaintiffs require upon release. As a result, plaintiffs were allegedly held in state prison past their lawful release dates (in some cases over a year). The plaintiffs also alleged that during this prolonged time in prison, the defendants subjected them to solitary confinement and even revoked the approved release status of the inmates in response to the inmates' reporting of violations.

The plaintiffs sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12132, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C § 794, and 42 U.S.C. §1983 for violations of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Represented by the Legal Aid Society and Disability Rights New York, the plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief for the alleged unconstitutional and discriminatory practices to which the defendants subjected them. Specifically, the plaintiffs asked that the defendants make release possible by developing the community-based mental health housing programs that the defendants have imposed as a precondition for the plaintiff's discharge from prison, and by creating an effective plan for community integration.

The case was assigned to Judge Cathy Seibel and is ongoing.

Lisa Koo - 03/16/2019


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