A state court has ordered the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) to disclose which provisions of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act (HALT) it has suspended in response to recent illegal strikes by corrections officers. The ruling comes after legal action from The Legal Aid Society, Disability Rights Advocates, and Winston & Strawn LLP, who argued that DOCCS had no authority to suspend the law.
The Order to Show Cause (OSC), filed in Anthony v. DOCCS, is part of a class action lawsuit on behalf of incarcerated New Yorkers with disabilities. The plaintiffs claim that DOCCS and the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) are violating HALT, a landmark law that limits the use of solitary confinement, particularly for individuals with disabilities. Legal experts say solitary confinement has been widely condemned for its devastating psychological effects, with evidence showing it makes prisons more dangerous rather than safer.
DOCCS initially announced the suspension of HALT in a February 20 memorandum from Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III. Legal Aid requested clarification four days later, but the state instead reaffirmed its position in a March 6 agreement with the correctional officers’ union. The court’s latest order now requires DOCCS to specify which parts of HALT it claims to have suspended.
“HALT is the law in New York and DOCCS has no authority to suspend it,” said Antony Gemmell, supervising attorney for the Prisoners’ Rights Project at The Legal Aid Society. “By announcing a vaguely defined ‘suspension,’ DOCCS opens the door to a potentially boundless circumvention of the legislature’s express will.”
Brittany Castle, staff attorney at Disability Rights Advocates, added that people with disabilities have endured solitary confinement’s harsh conditions for too long. “DOCCS cannot claim for itself the power to ‘suspend’ the state law that prohibits this practice and it certainly cannot do so in secret,” she said.
Winston & Strawn partner Eva Cole called the court’s ruling “a crucial step in ensuring that DOCCS adheres to the legal standards set forth by the HALT Act,” emphasizing the need for transparency and accountability.
The case highlights the ongoing conflict between prison reform advocates and correctional officers’ unions over HALT, which has faced opposition since its passage. The legal battle is likely to continue as advocates push for full enforcement of the law.
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