TRO Obtained for Pro Bono Client in Article 78 Challenge

Paul, Weiss obtained a temporary restraining order for a client, two days before she gave birth, granting her and her newborn admission to the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility Nursery program, pending a final decision on her Article 78 challenge to prison officials' decision to remove her. Our client was accepted into the nursery program last spring but her removal was ordered by the facility superintendent in late October after she received a disciplinary infraction for breaking a small window. In a letter to our client, the superintendent also cited an earlier ticket for possessing expired medications (including prenatal vitamins) as a basis for ordering our client's removal. Paul, Weiss successfully argued that our client had a high likelihood of success in asserting that these relatively minor infractions do not rise to the level required to separate a newborn from her incarcerated mother under New York Correction Law § 611(2); that the balance of the equities weighed in her favor; and that absent injunctive relief, she would suffer imminent, irreparable harm. Under the TRO, our client's baby will remain in her mother's care pending a decision on the merits, rather than being placed into foster care. Should our client ultimately prevail, she and her daughter will likely remain together in the nursery until her release from prison next year.

The Paul, Weiss team included litigation associates Jeremy Benjamin, Mary Spooner and Dustin Williamson. Litigation partner Aidan Synnott supervised the case.