The Legal Aid Society, represented by The Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic, filed this lawsuit to end the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision’s (DOCCS) unlawful practice and policy of recording calls placed by incarcerated individuals to Legal Aid’s helplines. Callers contact the helplines about a wide range of legal issues related to their incarceration, including urgent and time-sensitive issues such as reporting of sexual assault, abuse or brutality by prison staff, or serious medical needs requiring prompt intervention.

Legal Aid established its helplines to provide immediate legal assistance to its incarcerated clients. DOCCS’s practice forces Legal Aid to defer discussing an individual’s pressing concerns until an in-person visit or legal call can be scheduled, which often takes weeks and sometimes results in clients avoiding the helplines altogether. This practice violates Legal Aid’s First Amendment rights, as recording the helplines chills candid communication between it and its clients, thus infringing on Legal Aid’s protected expressive and associational activity.