The Legal Aid Society filed this class action lawsuit on behalf of hundreds of individuals who were held by the state prison system past the release dates of their prison sentences. Our clients, who were convicted of sex offenses and completed their determinate prison sentences, were held in prison-based “Residential Treatment Facilities” (RTFs), required to wear the same prison uniforms, and were subject to the same disciplinary rules and procedures after their release dates.

In 2019, an Albany trial court dismissed our case against the City and rejected our claim that our clients’ prison terms were being illegally extended because they were held in prison facilities, required to wear the same prison uniforms as incarcerated individuals, and were subject to the same prison disciplinary rules and procedures. But the court also held that the prison system violated the Correction Law by failing to provide any community-based opportunities for education, training and employment for the clients. Both parties appealed to the Appellate Division, and in 2022, that Court ruled against us, holding that the State was not required to provide our clients with employment, training, or educational training outside of RTF facilities. We appealed to the Court of Appeals. In 2024, the Court of Appeals reinstated the trial court’s finding that DOCCS’ wholesale refusal to undertake efforts to secure community-based opportunities for RTF residents violated its statutory obligation, holding that the State’s position “eviscerate[d] the character and purpose of the RTF and undermine[d] the legislative intent.”