INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF INTEREST
Eight years after this Court entered its Consent Decree mandating significant reforms to reduce the use of excessive force in New York City jails, the people held in those jails are increasingly subject to intolerable and sometimes deadly violence and dysfunction. Amici curiae The Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, New York County Defender Services, and Queens Defenders are not-for-profit public defender offices that provide multidisciplinary legal services along with social work and advocacy support to low-income New Yorkers. As public defenders, amici collectively represent hundreds of thousands of people each year charged in New York City’s criminal courts, including thousands each year who are detained or incarcerated in the New York City jail system while they fight their cases in court or serve a sentence of a year or less. The majority of the people we represent are Black and brown New Yorkers from under-resourced neighborhoods. As public defenders, amici have unique insight and experience regarding the humanitarian crisis unfolding at New York City Department of Corrections (“DOC” or the “Department”) facilities. For years, amici have seen New York City jails plunge deeper and deeper into an abyss of chaos and cruelty. Yet what amici have witnessed in the last two years is alarming beyond measure: an increasingly pervasive culture of hostility and aggression within DOC causing outrageous violence, suffering, and neglect.
Amici respectfully submit this brief in support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Contempt and Application for Appointment of a Receiver (ECF No. 601). Amici have a substantial and compelling interest in advocating for the safety and constitutional rights of people in DOC custody. In this brief, amici offer insights from their experience as public defenders to highlight how the Department’s excessive force and hyper-confrontational culture impacts people in custody and the severe consequences of exposure to normalized violence and disorder. The stories below of people who have suffered enormous physical and psychological harm as a result of the chaos and dysfunction in New York City jails are but a small sampling of the myriad harms that people in DOC custody endure on a daily basis. There is no question that DOC is unwilling and unable to protect the people in its custody and their constitutional rights, or to undertake the reforms needed to comply with core provisions of the Consent Decree and other Court-ordered relief.
Amicus curiae The Bronx Defenders (“BxD”) is a non-profit provider of innovative, holistic, client-centered criminal defense, family defense, civil legal services, and social work support to indigent people in the Bronx. Each year, BxD’s advocates defend thousands of lowincome Bronx residents in criminal cases—including individuals who are held in custody at Rikers Island—and civil, family, and immigration cases, and reaches hundreds more through outreach programs and community legal education.
Amicus curiae Brooklyn Defender Services (“BDS”) is one of the largest public defense offices in New York State, representing low-income people in nearly 22,000 criminal, family, civil, and immigration proceedings each year. Its staff consists of specialized attorneys, social workers, investigators, paralegals, jail services specialists, and administrative staff who are experts in their individual fields. For over twenty-five years, BDS has worked, in and out of court, to protect and uphold the rights of individuals and to change laws and systems that perpetuate injustice and inequality.
Amicus curiae Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (“NDS”) is a community-based public defender office. Since 1990, NDS has sought to improve the quality and depth of criminal, family, and civil defense for those in Harlem and Northern Manhattan who cannot afford an attorney. NDS accomplishes this by providing holistic, cross-practice representation to its clients.
Amicus curiae New York County Defender Services (“NYCDS”) is a public defender office serving indigent clients in the borough of Manhattan in New York City since 1997. NYCDS provides comprehensive legal advocacy for its clients while promoting systemic reforms to the criminal legal system. Its diverse staff of attorneys, social workers, investigators, paralegals, jail advocates, and support staff is committed to protecting the rights of its clients both inside and out of the courtroom. On any given day, approximately 300 NYCDS clients are confined to the custody of DOC.
Amicus curiae Queens Defenders provides free, high-quality legal representation to individuals accused of crimes in Queens County. Since 1996, Queens Defenders’ highly skilled attorneys have represented over 450,000 people and handle major trials and homicides, work with clients involved in Queens treatment courts, and represent cases involving domestic violence, youth charged with felonies, and immigrants facing criminal charges.