A Brooklyn court ruled Monday that a lawsuit challenging New York’s use of solitary confinement on incarcerated people with disabilities can move forward as a class action.
The decision grants class certification and denies the State’s request to move the case out of Kings County. The suit, filed in May 2024, accuses the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) and the Office of Mental Health (OMH) of violating the HALT Solitary Confinement Law.
The Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act, or HALT, bans placing people with disabilities in solitary confinement and limits such confinement to no more than 17 hours a day. Plaintiffs allege that DOCCS and OMH continue to isolate hundreds of disabled people for up to 24 hours a day, despite these legal restrictions.
“This case is about protecting the rights of some of the most vulnerable people in New York’s prison system,” said Katherine Haas of The Legal Aid Society’s Prisoners’ Rights Project. “These rulings allow the case to move forward on behalf of all those affected.”
According to the lawsuit, DOCCS has confined Maurice Anthony, a legally blind man incarcerated since 2014, in solitary conditions nearly the entire time since HALT took effect. At several facilities, he was held in his cell up to 23 hours a day, which he described as being trapped “in a trunk” or a “casket.”
Another plaintiff, Andy Gneco, was allegedly held in solitary at Auburn and Clinton correctional facilities despite hearing and mental health disabilities. The complaint states that he endured up to 24 hours a day in isolation, intensifying his depression and anxiety.
“These legal victories are meaningful steps forward,” said Victoria Pilger of Disability Rights Advocates. “This is the vision of HALT, and one that DOCCS and OMH cannot continue to evade.”
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