Public Comment in Support of amending Part 17 of the Rules of the Chief Judge to improve the Unified Court System’s (UCS) program for judicial visitation to detention facilities

November 21, 2025

Background: The Historical Link between Prisons, the Correctional Association of New York, and the Judiciary

The Correctional Association of New York (CANY) is an independent, non-profit organization with a legal mandate to monitor and report on conditions in New York State prisons. Founded as the Prison Association of New York in 1844 and deputized by the state to provide monitoring and oversight of the state’s prisons in 1846, it was one of the first organizations in the country designated with the responsibility to administer civilian oversight of prisons. Under current law, New York Correction Law §146, CANY continues to inform policymakers and the public about living and working conditions in prisons through onsite monitoring, reporting, and recommendations for improvements.

During CANY’s long history, a number of judges have served as members of the association; William T. McCoun, John Edmonds, and John Duer were early founding members. Judge Edmonds took on a role as Chairman of the Executive Committee and Judge McCoun served as President of the association for several years. In the Prison Association of New York’s annual report of 1846, Judge Edmonds reflected on the critical importance of external scrutiny of prisons and other places of detention, reporting that through the activities of the Association, “the evils of prisons of detention have been searched and exposed, so that the innocent and the novice may not be hopelessly corrupted by contamination. With this view, our prisons for punishment have been carefully examined and their government closely scanned, so that the reformation may not be interrupted by cruelty, and the convict may not by unnecessary harshness be rendered desperate and more wicked.”

The Value of Direct Observation

CANY, through its oversight, affirms the importance of on-site monitoring to accurately assess conditions of confinement and serve as an early warning system for abuse and neglect. CANY’s visit to Marcy Correctional Facility in October 2022 uncovered a disturbing culture of brutality that ultimately presaged the murder of Robert Brooks at the facility in December 2024. During CANY’s visit, 80% of interview respondents reported exposure to physical or verbal abuse and nearly 70% cited racial bias. During a recent monitoring visit to Green Haven Correctional Facility, CANY observed the aftereffects of the illegal strike staged by Correction Officers (CO). At Green Haven, monitors observed how limited staffing has resulted in severe cutbacks in program availability and access for incarcerated individuals, including therapeutic programs like Alcohol and Substance Use Treatment (ASAT) and Aggression Replacement Training (ART).

At a systemic level, monitoring visits during the past two years have informed CANY’s comprehensive report on the HALT law, Two Years of HALT: Use of Segregated Confinement, Implementation of Core Requirements, and Perceptions Across the System. Direct oversight was crucial for understanding the law's complexities, allowing CANY to capture information that statistics alone could not. For example, the report documented a troubling "upside-down" system where system-wide understaffing forced facilities to redirect resources away from the general population in order to comply with requirements in the Residential Rehabilitation Unit (RRU).  This unintended consequence has led to widespread program cutbacks as well as reports of noncompliance with the law.

Judicial Visits: The Enormous Potential for Benefit

The principle of separation of powers dictates that the judiciary imposes sentences, while the executive branch, through prisons, administers them. This functional division has created both necessary insulation and a profound gap in awareness: judges in New York State routinely preside over civil cases originating from prisons and jails and sentence individuals to institutions they have never personally visited.

Adopting a new rule requiring judges to visit correctional facilities would add a powerful layer of oversight above and beyond that which is carried out by CANY and the state agencies charged with inspecting prisons and jails. Annual visits by judges who are responsible for sentencing would promote additional transparency and accountability within a historically opaque system. These visits would yield transformative benefits for the staff working within correctional facilities, the individuals incarcerated within them, and the judges themselves.

The annual presence of judges in correctional facilities would generate a vital feedback loop for institutional health. Additional routine external observation would promote integrity, providing opportunities for judges to understand the realities and perspectives of people living in and working in correctional facilities. Judicial visits would signal to incarcerated individuals that they remain constituent members of the community, thereby fostering self-worth and growth. This connection is essential for developing civic-mindedness and preparing individuals to return to society as contributing citizens. Judicial visits have the potential to serve as a powerful signal to incarcerated individuals that they are not permanently marginalized. They can help to inspire an environment where individuals are incentivized to develop transferable skills and develop a constructive mindset. Incarcerated leaders, in turn, can leverage this external validation to encourage self-empowerment among the population, demonstrating that self-improvement is both expected and recognized, thereby paving the way for a more successful and safer re-entry into society.

Crucially, while judges are unable to pass legislation, they can enact reforms through case law. Engagement with incarcerated individuals and staff would provide them with a direct, visceral comprehension of the living and working conditions in prisons, helping to "open up" a system that thrives in opacity. By intimately connecting the judiciary to the realities of conditions within jails and prisons, judges will be better equipped for making sentencing and detention determinations.

Conclusion

Understanding the importance and potential positive influence of judicial visits, CANY urges the Office of Court Administration to amend Part 17 of the Rules of the Chief Judge to improve UCS's program for judicial visitation to detention facilities.