Call 212-577-3300
Southern District of New York
Dori Lewis Lisa Freeman Veronica Vela
Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP
The Legal Aid Society brought a class action lawsuit on behalf of incarcerated women who faced systemic sexual abuse and harassment by corrections officers in New York prisons to challenge the DOCCS policies that permitted their abuse. After extensive litigation, the case was largely derailed under the Prison Litigation Reform Act’s exhaustion requirement However, it identified and focused attention on the importance of identifying patterns of abusive behavior by staff, years before the Me Too movement brought the issue to national attention. It helped lead to changes in DOCCS’ response to allegations of staff sexual abuse, including the placement of cameras in the women’s prisons. The case also helped inform our work with DOJ on the proposed Prison Rape Elimination Act Standards, including leading to changes under the Standards to requirements for exhaustion in cases involving sexual abuse.