What is the Nunez Monitorship?
The Nunez Consent Judgment is the result of a settlement of the Nunez class-action lawsuit brought in 2011 on behalf of current and future inmates of jails operated by the New York City Department of Correction, alleging that the Department had engaged in a pattern and practice of unnecessary and excessive force. Following an investigation by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) relating to the treatment of young male inmates, which found a pattern and practice of excessive and unnecessary use of force, the failure to adequately protect inmates from inmate-on-inmate violence, and inappropriate placement of 16- to 18-year-old inmates in punitive segregation for excessive periods of time, the SDNY intervened in the Nunez action.
After lengthy litigation of the Nunez class claims and the SDNY findings, and after many months of intensive negotiations, the parties reached a comprehensive and detailed Consent Judgment designed to remedy the alleged unconstitutional practices in the Department’s facilities. Following the settlement, the Court appointed Steve J. Martin as the Monitor. Since the inception of the Consent Judgment, the professionals at Tillid Group have been an integral part of the monitoring team to manage the implementation and compliance assessments of the Consent Judgment. Tillid Group’s Nunez team consists of the Deputy Monitor, Associate Deputy Monitor, an Associate Director, and Senior Data Analyst. The Monitor, Tillid Group, and three additional outside Subject Matter Experts, comprise the Nunez monitoring team, reflecting diverse professional backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives that help to ensure that the monitoring team’s work is neutral, independent, and reasonable.
Consent Judgment, Remedial Orders, and Action Plan
Below are links to download the Consent Judgment, three Remedial Orders, and the Action Plan.
Docket 350 – First Remedial Order
Docket 398 – Second Remedial Order
Docket 424 – Third Remedial Order
The Consent Judgment has been modified by various Court Orders, outlined below is a chart of all the modifications followed by the specific modifying orders:
Overview Chart of Orders Modifying Consent Judgment (Docket 376)
Monitor Reports
The Nunez monitoring team issues routine reports that provide a summary and assessment of the work completed by the New York City Department of Correction and the monitoring team to advance the reforms in the Consent Judgment.
First Report (October 22, 2015 to February 29, 2016)
Second Report (March 1, 2016 to July 31, 2016)
Third Report (August 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016)
Fourth Report (January 1, 2017 to June 30, 2017)
Fifth Report (July 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017)
Sixth Report (January 1, 2018 to June 30, 2018)
Seventh Report (July 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018)
Eighth Report (January 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019)
Ninth Report (July 1, 2019 to December, 31 2019)
Tenth Report (January 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020)
Remedial Order Reports
In addition to the Monitor Reports above, the Nunez monitoring team issued three brief interim written reports describing the efforts the Department has taken to implement the requirements of the Remedial Orders.
Other Status Reports & Orders
Below are other status reports filed by the monitoring team, and orders issued by the Court.
Special Report on RNDC Locking Mechanisms (Filed March 5, 2018)
Second Status Report on Horizon Operations (Filed December 4, 2018)
Third Status Report on Horizon Operations (Filed February 19, 2019)
COVID-19 Letter to Court (Filed May 6, 2020)
Letter to Court Regarding Present Conditions (Filed August 24, 2021)
Second Letter to Court Regarding Present Conditions (Filed September 2, 2021)
Third Letter to Court Regarding Present Conditions (Filed September 23, 2021)
Status Report on Use of Force Discipline (Filed September 30, 2021)
Status Report (Filed October 14, 2021)
Status Report (Filed November 17, 2021)
Status Report (Filed December 1, 2021)
Special Report (Filed March 16, 2022)
Special Report (Filed April 20, 2022)
Status Report (Filed April 25, 2022)
Letter to Court and Action Plan (Filed May 17, 2022)
Letter to Court and Updated Action Plan (Filed June 10, 2022)
Status Report (Filed June 30, 2022)
Status Report (Filed October 28, 2022)
Status Report (Filed November 14, 2022)
Special Intake Report (Filed February 3, 2023)
The next Monitor’s report will be filed with the Court on March 31, 2023
Confidentiality & Use of Materials
Below are orders and agreements among the involved parties regarding the confidentiality and/or use of the documents developed and produced by the Department and the Nunez monitoring team.
Amended Protective Order – Docket 89
Addendum to Amended Protective Order – Docket 293
Parties Agreement Re: Use of Documents (9/19/16 – Docket 290)
Parties Agreement Re: Use of Documents (9/19/17 – Docket 304)
Stipulation and Order Regarding Access to Protected Health Information (5/24/21 – Docket 372)