A federal judge found the Department of Correction in civil contempt on Thursday—a stern rebuke of city officials for failing to keep their promises of transparency and communication.
The admonishment comes after the Department of Correction opened a restrictive housing unit on Rikers without seeking consultation from the federal monitor. As part of a years-long court battle, the department is supposed to confer with the court-appointed monitor on issues like opening new housing units.
What You Need To Know
- A federal judge said the city was out of compliance with its Rikers action plan and another court order from June, so she held the city in contempt
- She is ordering the city to communicate with its staff, stating they must comply with the federal monitor's orders
- If the city remains in contempt, the judge threatened to enact daily fines
The judge is now ordering the department to work with the monitor and communicate that relationship to its staff.
In court on Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain was clearly fed up.
“The department’s blatant failure to communicate here is unacceptable and in a word contemptuous,” Swain said. “We are dealing with the lives and safety of real people.”
Correction commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie said she remained committed to making sure people are safe and secure in their facilities.
“While the court found us in contempt, there is an opportunity to purge, so we will be responding on Tuesday to the court and those provisions,” Maginley-Liddie said.
For the new commissioner, the rebuke comes during her first week on the job. She has been with the department for eight years, but took over the top post on Monday.
In recent months, federal prosecutors, lawyers for detainees and the federal monitor have said the department was heading in the wrong direction under the previous commissioner, Louis Molina. They said the department was marked by instability and a lack of transparency.
In court on Thursday, the federal monitor said he was optimistic by the appointment of the new commissioner, and hoped it would usher in a new era of partnership and collaboration.
“At the start of the hearing, the monitor and the deputy monitor expressed they were optimistic and so did the court,” Maginley-Liddie said.
As part of the contempt finding, the judge is ordering the city to elevate the role of the manager overseeing compliance with the court and implement a communication plan to make sure all staff knows they must comply with the court’s orders.
The judge warned the city if it continued to be in contempt, she would issue fines, which could rise to four figures per day.