The Legal Aid Society filed a class action lawsuit to challenge New York State’s policy and practice of holding people with disabilities incarcerated in state prison in solitary confinement, violating the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Law (HALT). Enacted in 2022, HALT bans solitary confinement for people with disabilities because of the severe and well-documented harm it causes to these especially vulnerable people.  Yet years after HALT’s passage, people with disabilities continue routinely to be placed in segregated confinement in prisons around the state.

In June 2025, the court granted plaintiffs’ motion for class certification and denied a motion by DOCCS to transfer venue to Albany County. The case is ongoing.