(NEW YORK, NY) - The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services and Milbank LLP filed a letter in Agnew v. New York City Department of Correction, litigation filed in October 2021 concerning incarcerated New Yorkers’ access to medical care in local jails. Last month, a Court found the New York City Department of Correction (DOC) in contempt of a December order requiring DOC to remedy its unlawful failure to ensure incarcerated New Yorkers have access to medical services. The contempt order gave the City 30 days to demonstrate that it is no longer violating the Court’s order or face a $100 fine for each medical appointment missed from December 11, 2021 through January 2022.

Last week, DOC submitted an affidavit (“the Thomson Affidavit”) to the Court claiming that it had complied with the order. That affidavit, however, not only demonstrates ongoing noncompliance with the Court’s order but also raises serious concerns about how DOC has changed the way it collects and reports data.

View the full press release here.