NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The Legal Aid Society filed a lawsuit Wednesday to force the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to either release or hold hearings for 91 Rikers Island inmates who were jailed for minor parole violations and would be eligible for an expedited hearing under a new law.
The Less is More Act, a piece of legislation that guarantees in-person hearings within 24 hours for anyone jailed for non-criminal parole violations like missing a meeting with a parole officer, took effect Tuesday.
The DOCCS decided that it would obey the law for parolees jailed after the law took effect, but that hearings won’t be held for eligible parolees who were already jailed on March 1.
A DOCCS spokesperson told The New York Times the department doesn’t believe the law obligates them to hold hearings for people detained before the law took effect. “We have been proactive in applying the spirit of the law,” she said.
The LAS sued the DOCCS in Bronx Supreme Court on behalf of 91 inmates currently jailed at Rikers who are eligible for an accelerated trial under the new law.
“DOCCS is violating the spirit of this transformative law by refusing to hold these hearings for everyone in its custody,” wrote the LAS in a Tweet. “Litigation is now the only remedy to protect the rights of our clients.”
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