Holden v. Zucker

Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, The Bronx Defenders, The Legal Aid Society, the New York Civil Liberties Union, and Brooklyn Defender Services filed an Article 78 petition on behalf of all individuals held in New York City jails. The petition alleges that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s refusal to include all incarcerated people in the pool of individuals eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations–while providing vaccinations to others living in congregate settings and to Department of Correction (DOC) employees–ignores science and public health mandates and arbitrarily excludes incarcerated New Yorkers in violation of the Equal Protection clause of the 14 th Amendment to the United States Constitution. The coalition of public defenders and civil liberties advocates demanded that the state immediately offer vaccinations to all incarcerated people.