PLS CHALLENGES WITHHOLDING OF EVIDENCE REQUESTED THROUGH FOIL

PLS CHALLENGES WITHHOLDING OF EVIDENCE REQUESTED THROUGH FOIL

Timely access to prison records is critical to PLS’s ability to provide effective representation to our clients. Our primary means of obtaining records for initial investigations and advocacy is New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). We recently argued an appeal before the Appellate Division, Third Department challenging DOCCS’ withholding of videos and narrative incident reports requested through FOIL. DOCCS relied on several FOIL exemptions to justify withholding these records, including the “law enforcement,” “safety,” and “intra-agency materials” exemptions (Public Officers Law § 89[2][e], [f], and [g]).

 

 

The law requires that an agency articulate a “particularized and specific justification” when exempting records from disclosure, and our position was that DOCCS did not meet this standard. For example, some of the video at issue depicted a prison yard incident. DOCCS asserted that disclosure would create a risk of retaliation against individuals who could be identified from the video. We argued that DOCCS’ speculative concern about retaliation did not justify the safety exemption, in part because the video showed nothing more than what was readily observable to dozens of people present during the incident—a factor that weighs against withholding under the safety exemption (see Matter of Buffalo Broadcasting. Co. v. New York State Dep’t of Corr. Servs., 174 A.D.2d 212 [3d Dep’t 1992]). We also argued that DOCCS’ alleged safety concerns were undermined by the fact that prison officials had already shown the video to several incarcerated people in the context of disciplinary hearings to allow them to identify others, which was one of the very risks that DOCCS later claimed to justify withholding under FOIL.  

 

 

In addition to the videos withheld under the safety exemption, PLS challenged DOCCS’ denial of records that the agency eventually produced after litigation was pending. Ordinarily, production of records will make any challenge to their withholding moot. We asked the Court to grant an exception to the mootness doctrine and rule on the issues presented in order to address DOCCS’ misapplication of the law enforcement and intra-agency materials exemptions to surveillance videos and unusual incident reports. We argued that DOCCS’ withholding of those records presented novel and important questions about how the agency interprets the relevant FOIL exemptions, and that their misinterpretation of the exemptions is likely to continue in ways that will escape the Court’s review.

  

 

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP provided pro bono representation to PLS in this matter before both Albany Supreme Court and the Appellate Division. 

 

Jonathan Feldman – General Counsel

Jonathan Feldman

General Counsel

(518) 438-8046 ext. xxxx

jfeldman@plsny.org

Jonathan Feldman is General Counsel for PLS.  He worked for the Empire Justice Center for 24 years – as a Senior Attorney from 1997-2018, and as Legal Director from 2019-2022.  His primary focus has been civil rights, especially education law.  He has litigated impact cases in the areas of special education, bilingual education, school desegregation, and equitable school funding.  He has taught education law at Seton Hall Law School and the University of Rochester, and has co-authored two editions of the textbook, Education Law (Routledge: 2014 and 2021).

He has also taught legal ethics, legal writing, and clinical courses at Cornell Law School and Syracuse University College of Law.  During the 1990s, he worked for the Education Law Center in Newark, NJ, and the Community Service Society in New York City.  A graduate of Oberlin College and NYU Law School, he clerked for the Hon. James T. Giles, a federal district judge, and the first African American to be named partner at a major Philadelphia law firm (1975).

On the side, he plays in blues and jazz groups (piano and vocals).  Jonathan Feldman Trio on Spotify; Jonathan Feldman channel on YouTube.

Elementor #8883

Gina Andrade

Paralegal/Legal Secretary
(518) 694-8699 ext. 2112
gandrade@plsny.org

Gina was born in Brooklyn, New York. Gina graduated from the University at Albany, SUNY with a bachelor’s degree in Latin American, Caribbean and U.S. Latino studies. She is currently in the master’s program there and is set to graduate with her Master’s in May 2022. Starting in the fall she will be pursuing her Ph.D. Her research interests are in Mexico specifically transnational families, and femicide. She intends to stay in academia being a college professor and at some point, having the opportunity to teach in Mexico. She has gotten the opportunity to travel to Japan, Ecuador and Puerto Rico, and hopes to continue traveling to many other places. In her free time, Gina likes to read, try different boba places and dog-sit.

PLS Response to the Buffalo TOPS Shooting

PLS Response to the Buffalo TOPS Shooting

Our hearts are with the families, friends, and community of the victims of the horrific racially motivated massacre at the Jefferson Avenue TOPS in Buffalo. To help the community in Buffalo heal, consider a donation to one of the following organizations***:

 

PLS condemns white supremacy in every form. In the wake of this tragedy, we are reminded of the words of civil rights activist John Lewis:  “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.”

 

*** PLS is not affiliated with any of the above organizations

CALL FOR POETRY SUBMISSIONS

CALL FOR POETRY SUBMISSIONS

CONVICTIONS BEYOND A CONVICTION

HELP PRISONERS’ LEGAL SERVICES CELEBRATE NATIONAL PRO BONO WEEK

National Pro Bono Week (October 23rd – 29th) is a time to celebrate and recognize the dedicated work of pro bono volunteers, as well as to educate the community about the many legal and other issues faced by our clients. PLS is happy to announce that this year we will again be celebrating National Pro Bono Week with an event highlighting our commitment to serving the incarcerated community.


This will be our 11th year celebrating pro bono work and to start off this second decade, we will also be compiling a book of poetry written exclusively by incarcerated individuals.

Inspired by Brian Stevenson’s quote “Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done,” we are seeking poetry submissions from incarcerated people that focuses on who you are apart from your conviction and incarceration. We want to help you tell people on the outside who you really are.


  • What do you believe in?
  • What are your ambitions, hopes, and dreams?
  • What do your children, parents, family, and friends mean to you?
  • How have your past experiences shaped you as a person?
  • What do you want others to know about you, beyond your conviction?


Unlike past years where our Pro Bono Event has focused on specific topics such as solitary confinement, immigration, medical care and education, this year’s theme, Convictions Beyond a Conviction, is purposely broad. Our goal is to give every incarcerated New Yorker a chance to contribute, express themselves, and have their voices heard. If you speak/write in a language other than English, please feel free to send us a submission in your primary language, that is, the language in which you are most comfortable expressing yourself. We will compile selected submissions into a book of poetry, and some of those poems will be presented by professional actors during a live performance at our National Pro Bono Week celebration.


Poems should be no more than one (1) page in length and mailed to: Pro Bono Director, Prisoners’ Legal Services of NY, 41 State Street, Suite M112, Albany, New York 12207, no later than June 30, 2022.

 

By sharing the poems of incarcerated people, we hope to educate the public, and recruit attorneys to take cases pro bono, thus increasing access to justice for indigent incarcerated persons across the State. While we cannot guarantee that each piece will be read or included in our publication, we encourage all submissions and will do our best to integrate as many as possible in the book and our event. The book will not be sold for profit and PLS reserves the right to make editorial changes to submissions.


Please note that contributing your story for the Pro Bono Event described above is not the same as seeking legal assistance/representation from PLS. If you are seeking legal assistance, you must write separately to the appropriate PLS office.


PLEASE INITIAL ON THE APPROPRIATE LINE(S) AND SIGN BELOW, AND ENCLOSE WITH YOUR SUBMISSION:   PLS Poetry Submission Form for National Pro Bono Week 2022

DOCCS REVERSES CLIENT’S REMOVAL FROM WORK RELEASE PROGRAM FOLLOWING A LAWSUIT FILED BY PLS IN FEDERAL COURT

DOCCS REVERSES CLIENT’S REMOVAL FROM WORK RELEASE PROGRAM FOLLOWING A LAWSUIT FILED BY PLS IN FEDERAL COURT

PLS prevails in challenge to a DOCCS’ decision to remove our client from the work release program following his filing of a worker’s compensation program claim for a prior occupational injury as one that violates Americans with Disabilities Act.

 

Beckhorn v. NYSDOCCS, et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-01452, W.D.N.Y.

 

Mr. Beckhorn was approved to participate in DOCCS’ work release program. However, after DOCCS staff learned that he filed a worker’s compensation claim for a prior occupational injury, they removed him from the work release program. This program removal also resulted in revocation of his previously earned sentence reduction credit. As a result of DOCCS’ unlawful conduct, our client spent an additional nine months in prison.

 

PLS brought claims for unlawful disability-based discrimination in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York and moved for a preliminary injunction. The Court found that Mr. Beckhorn was likely to succeed on his claim that his removal from the work release program violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, and ordered DOCCS to restore his sentence reduction credit. PLS subsequently obtained a monetary settlement for Mr. Beckhorn to compensate him for exclusion from the work release program and prolonged incarceration.

Sara Jensen – Staff Attorney

Sara Jensen

Staff Attorney

(518) 438-8046 ext. 1115

sjensen@plsny.org

Sara joined PLS as a staff attorney in 2024. She was previously a staff attorney at Northeast New Jersey Legal Services where she represented clients in public benefits matters. Sara graduated from Florida A&M University College of Law where she served as the Notes and Comments Editor for the Florida A&M University Law Review. As a law student, she interned with the Office of the Public Defender for Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit and with Florida A&M University’s Guardian Ad Litem Clinic. Prior to law school, Sara worked in political and nonprofit fundraising. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and spending time outdoors.

Madison Levin – Staff Attorney

Madison Levin

Staff Attorney

(518) 438-8046 ext. 1101

mlevin@plsny.org

Madison joined PLS as a staff attorney in 2022. Before joining PLS, she was a fellow with Legal Aid Society Prisoners’ Rights Project where she worked primarily on behalf of the plaintiff class in Nunez v. City of New York, a federal class action filed to address unconstitutional excessive force on Rikers Island. She graduated from Columbia Law School, where her passion for prisoners’ rights was cemented in a clinical program where she, four fellow student advocates, and her supervising attorney shepherded a successful §1983 failure to protect case through a federal jury trial. Madison began to focus on issues of justice and human rights when she became a counselor for the Youth Leadership Initiative through the YW in Boston. Additionally, she was an advocate for foster children in Washington, where she saw first-hand the devastation the legal system can cause to families. 

 

Prior to law school, Madison had a diverse list of careers. She earned a BA from Boston University and began her professional life as a dental assistant in pediatric offices. She has worked for a variety of theatre companies, including Impulse Company France and Actors’ Shakespeare Project, mostly in the technical realm but occasionally on stage. Madison also has experience in animal welfare having routinely volunteered at a non-profit horse rescue facility in Colorado.  

Mari Flamm – PREP Social Worker

Mari Flamm, LMSW

Re-entry Social Worker

(716) 292-0282

mflamm@plsny.org

Mari joined Prisoners’ Legal Services in November 2021. She is based out of the Newburgh office. Mari received her Master’s in Social Service (MSW equivalent) from Bryn Mawr College’s Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research in 2020 and was licensed that same year. Mari is passionate about working to end mass incarceration and thinking about the impact of incarceration on the people touched by the criminal legal system. In addition to her experience working with jail-based and youth diversion programs, she has volunteered with a number of prison-related initiatives including the Petey Greene Program, Prison Journalism Project and Prison Health News. In her free time, Mari likes to listen to paranormal podcasts, play boardgames, and spend time exploring the Hudson Valley.