Mayor Eric Adams violated the law when he stopped a City Council ban on solitary confinement from taking effect in city jails a Manhattan judge ruled Monday. Judge Jeffrey Pearlman wrote that Adams used emergency powers in a way that went beyond his legal limits. The solitary confinement ban was passed in 2023 with a veto-proof majority and was set to begin shortly before Adams blocked it. 

“The mayor must follow the law just like every New Yorker and cannot abuse the powers of the office.” - Judge Jeffrey Pearlman

The law known as Local Law 42 bans punitive segregation beyond four hours and changes how inmates are transported by ending the use of leg irons and handcuffs during transport. Adams argued that the law would cause a public safety risk but the judge said that was not enough to declare an emergency. Pearlman explained that a mayor may only use emergency powers in real emergencies and that Adams should have used legal channels to appeal the law if he disagreed with it.

City Council Celebrates Court Victory On Jail Reform

The City Council and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams sued the mayor in December calling his action arbitrary and unlawful. Judge Pearlman agreed and said Adams should have asked the federal judge who oversees Rikers Island for guidance instead of acting on his own. 

He said using emergency powers to override a council vote was not acceptable in a democracy. Council Speaker Adrianne Adams praised the ruling and said it was time for the city to comply with the law. The mayor’s office said the law would bring danger to city jails and argued that solitary confinement had not been used since 2019. Still the court ruling clears the path for the ban to move forward unless higher courts intervene.