The Legal Aid Society and the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a class-action lawsuit against Governor Cuomo and the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) challenging the unconstitutional automatic jailing of people held in New York City jails while waiting for a hearing for alleged parole violations, as reported by the New York Law Journal.

The lawsuit demands the opportunity for the release of over a thousand people jailed in New York City jails for alleged parole violations in light of the uncontrolled spread of the coronavirus and the dangerous public health conditions in the jails.

“The release process is a black box: there is no transparency around the process or criteria, and no one has had an opportunity to be heard about their release,” the suite reads in part.