Lawsuit argues mayor’s orders are an unlawful and unprecedented abuse of emergency declaration power that no other NYC mayor has used to undo democratic process
Today, the New York City Council and Public Advocate filed a joint lawsuit with the Supreme Court of the State of New York seeking to invalidate Mayor Adams’ emergency executive orders that suspended parts of Local Law 42 of 2024, which bans solitary confinement in city jails. The Article 78 legal filing argues that Mayor Adams’ issuance of Emergency Executive Orders 624 and 625, which declared a state of emergency in city jails because of the imminent effective date of the law in order to suspend portions of it, was unlawful, unprecedented, and an undemocratic abuse of his authority that no previous New York City mayor has ever attempted. One day before Local Law 42 went into effect, Mayor Adams signed the emergency orders, making the historically unparalleled claim that a law going into effect represented an emergency even though state law governing emergency powers does not provide justification for such a use. Since the initial issuance of the orders, the mayor has extended the emergency declaration every 30 days and his order suspending the law every five days.
“Despite his desperate power grabs, this mayor can't just ignore the laws he doesn't like,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams, sponsor of Introduction 549-A/Local Law 42 of 204. “Ending the harmful isolation of solitary is a moral and legal imperative, yet the administration is desperately trying to maintain a status quo on Rikers that is dangerous to people on both sides of the bars. I am proud to partner with the Speaker to ensure that the mayor can't continue abusing the declaration of a 'state of emergency' to preserve his ego or political goals. We can't simply pardon or excuse this mayor's attempt to emulate the worst impulses of Donald Trump at the expense of New Yorkers, and I urge the court to end his false emergency so we can address the real crisis.”
“The democratic process of lawmaking cannot justifiably be declared a state of emergency, and Mayor Adams’ emergency orders are an unlawful and unprecedented abuse of power,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “The City Council overrode the Mayor’s veto to ban solitary confinement in city jails because its use has been proven to cause physical, psychological, and emotional harm and makes our city and jails less safe. Mayor Adams’ decision to exceed his legal authority, simply because he was overruled, undermines the foundation of our democracy, and it must be invalidated. This lawsuit is aimed at ensuring mayoral abuse of democratic government cannot stand, and the human rights and safety crisis on Rikers caused by maintaining the status quo of failed policies and practices is discontinued.”
“Emergency Executive Orders are not tools for any Mayor to misuse in undermining laws passed by the City Council,” said Council Member Sandy Nurse, Chair of the Committee on Criminal Justice. “Local Law 42 was enacted to save lives and reduce violence in our city jails, reflecting the will of the Council and the people we serve. Mayor Adams’ actions demonstrate a troubling disregard for our democratic process, the City Charter, and his duty to protect New Yorkers. This lawsuit is unfortunate, but a necessary step to hold him accountable for this unprecedented overreach of power.”
The Council and Public Advocate’s legal filings can be found here:
Petition
Memorandum of Law
The lawsuit requests that Mayor Adams’ emergency orders be found “arbitrary, capricious and contrary to law, the issuance of which is beyond [his] lawful authority,” and vacated.
Several organizations intend to file amicus briefs, including The Bronx Defenders in conjunction with Brooklyn Defender Services, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, New York County Defender Services, and Queens Defenders; the #HALTsolitary Campaign and Jails Action Coalition, and the New York Civil Liberties Union.
"Mayor Adam’s brazen suspension of this law is not only undemocratic and unlawful, but it sends an unmistakable message to the people we represent that their lives do not matter to this administration," said Meghna Philip, Interim Director of the Impact Litigation Practice at The Bronx Defenders. "The passage of LL42 represented a rare moment in which incarcerated New Yorkers testified publicly about the horrors they experience on Rikers Island, and our democratic system responded. The Mayor's executive orders silence those New Yorkers' voices, and the violent, torturous practices this law bans, including solitary confinement, continue on Rikers Island. We commend the City Council and the Public Advocate for standing up for the people we defend, and the courts should step in to end this abuse of executive authority by the Mayor."
“We applaud the City Council, the Speaker, the Public Advocate, and our fellow amici for today’s lawsuit challenging the Mayor’s illegal executive orders and demanding DOC implement Local Law 42,” said Anisah Sabur, the #HALTsolitary Campaign and the Jails Action Coalition. “Confinement is torture. It causes immense suffering, devastating harm, and death. It also worsens safety for everyone. After more than a 12 year campaign and robust, deliberative democratic process, a supermajority of the City Council overrode the Mayor’s veto to enact Local Law 42. This law will end solitary and instead use alternatives proven to reduce violence and better protect people’s health. The Mayor can not usurp the Council’s legislative authority and all of our public participation in the democratic process by issuing illegal executive orders to continue DOC’s torture regime. It is finally time for the Mayor and DOC to follow the law, stop torture, improve safety, and save lives by ending solitary once and for all.”
“Solitary confinement is an abuse of human rights,” said Lori Zeno, Executive Director of Queens Defenders. “We stand in solidarity with the New York City Council, Council Speaker Adams, and Public Advocate Williams in their momentous lawsuit challenging the Mayor’s illegal executive orders and demand the implementation of Local Law 42 to finally end solitary confinement. The time has come for the City of New York to end this abhorrent abuse and we urge the court to prioritize the health and safety of people in DOC custody.”
“For years, the inhumane restrictive housing practices in New York City jails have inflicted immense physical and mental trauma on incarcerated New Yorkers,” said Lucas Marquez, Director of Civil Rights and Law Reform at Brooklyn Defenders. “On behalf of the countless solitary survivors and those that have lost their lives at Rikers, the City Council passed Local Law 42 to end the torture of solitary confinement. Yet the administration has flouted LL42, failing to implement the law’s safeguards and due process protections. DOC continues to impose the draconian practice, from ‘deadlocking’ to cages-within-cells, on people in its custody. We cannot allow these abuses to continue and urge the court to take action to stop this torture.”
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