New York City Mayor Eric Adams overstepped his authority when he used his emergency powers to block a ban on solitary confinement in the city’s jails, a judge ruled Monday.
The ruling by New York State Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Pearlman said an emergency declaration issued by Adams last year blocking a portion of the law prohibiting jail officials from placing prisoners in “restrictive housing” for more than 60 days a year exceeded his authority under the law. He said the Council’s override of Adams’ veto should have been the last word.
“When the City Council overturns a mayoral veto, it is not an emergency, it is a democratic process, clearly laid out in the New York City charter,” Pearlman wrote in the six-page ruling. “By declaring a state of emergency and issuing emergency orders, he violated that process.”
Adams, a former NYPD captain, vetoed the solitary confinement bill in January 2024, saying the move would “keep those in our custody and our correction officers safer.” But the City Council overrode his objections, arguing that the restrictions would reduce violence in correctional facilities and end a practice they say causes “harm” to the prisoners.
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Author: Ray Hilbrich
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