Rikers’ law libraries lack supplies and remain disorganized, report finds

The Board of Correction released a new report analyzing the status of law libraries on Rikers Island. AP file photo by David Goldman

By Noah Powelson

Detainees on Rikers Island have continued to struggle to get access to the jail complex’s law libraries, a new report from the Department of Correction’s oversight body found.

The recent report from the Board of Correction, a re-assessment of a previous 2023 review, found that law library practices across all Rikers facilities remain unorganized despite the board making a series of recommendations for improvements to the DOC two years ago.

Several law libraries had broken equipment or were low on supplies, staffing hours were found to be inconsistent and library schedules sometimes overlap with mandated religious services or other services.

Law libraries are essential services provided in jails and prisons. They provide detainees and inmates with basic resources for legal research, notary services, photocopying services, typing services and writing supplies.

In New York City, individuals in general confinement facilities are eligible for law library services, and those with court deadlines may obtain special priority access to the law library. Those not permitted to visit a facility’s law library because of their custody status or their health can still receive outreach services from the law library.

In October of 2023, the BOC launched an independent review of the Department of Correction’s compliance in providing access to the courts and legal services. The board found at the time that law library facilities on Rikers were unstandardized, lacked supplies, saw frequent reduced staff shifts, and many other issues the BOC recommended the DOC address.

The recently released report, which covered five days of observation across eight facilities on Rikers in August 2024, found most of the same problems persisted.

Law library services did not occur at the same times across multiple facilities, and many would stay open or closed inconsistent with posted schedules.

When the law libraries were open, their hours would also overlap with other service schedules.

“In further review of the schedules, it appeared that there were overlapping instances between law library and mandated services,” the report reads.

The BOC found that in one Rikers facility, the law library was open for detainees in a certain housing unit at the same time Jewish religious services were held.

“This would result in an incarcerated individual having to either choose between the two services or be forced to leave one early to attend the other,” the report read.

Some facilities also lacked sign-up sheets, which detainees use to request and reserve time at the library.

And even when there were sign-up sheets, the report claimed they weren’t consistently used.

The BOC said some incarcerated individuals reported that not everybody who signed up was given access to the law library.

Even the library schedules themselves were stored inconsistently – some were on excel spreadsheets while others were in PDF format, according to the report.

The lack of standardized scheduling practices, the board reported, spread confusion among detainees around law library access and acted as a significant deterrent for detainees to seek legal services.

The BOC also found there were practices in place that negatively impacted access to remote legal services.

For example, at the Enhanced Supervision Housing within the Rose M. Singer Center, referred to as RESH, had no law library space. Detainees instead used provided tablets to conduct legal research. But those tablets, which are already less efficient than a law library, were frequently damaged or missing.

“Uniformed staff reported experiencing delays in device returns from people in custody who want to hold onto their discovery, as well as damages to devices which prevents other people in custody from viewing their legal material,” the report read.

“The Board maintains that while having some access is better than no access, the access provided via Department issued tablets does not replace physical access to the law library, as required by the Board’s Minimum Standards,” they added.

The DOC’s directive on law library operations requires that law libraries contain sufficient space to accommodate approximately 10 percent of the facility’s population. Data collected during the report showed that less than five percent of detainees accessed the law library during the five days of observation.

“Across all facilities, people in custody continue to be uncertain about accessing law library when sign-up sheets are not used,” the report read. “This is in part due to facilities establishing restrictions on the number of individuals that can be escorted to the law library at one time.”

For example, three facilities on Rikers allow for 16 or more people in custody to be escorted at a time, while two other facilities only allow six to ten individuals at a time.

The BOC did specify one noticeable improvement this year.

While in 2023, staff shift reductions created significant access problems, those issues have improved. The BOC stated that while some facilities continued to see staff reductions, overall staff has been more consistently available with law library services compared to last year.

The report recommended DOC contract new kiosk vendors able to repair damaged equipment faster, promote law library use, perform quarterly program schedule reviews, and consider increasing the size and quality of laptops for use in reviewing discovery.

The BOC also asked the DOC to consider hiring a legal coordinator specifically for RESH, the only Rikers facility lacking a law library.

The DOC did not respond to request for comment.