January 15, 2021

Firm establishes that holding someone in prison past his conditional release date violates the Eight and Fourteenth Amendments


In a precedent-setting decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that prison officials violated Devar Hurd’s Eight Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment and Fourteenth Amendment right to due process when they held him in prison for almost a year after his conditional release date. While the Court of Appeals held that correctional officials were entitled to qualified immunity, this decision clearly establishes that it violates the constitution to imprison someone after their mandatory release date. The firm previously obtained a substantial settlement for Mr. Hurd from other defendants in the case. Jacob Loup drafted the briefs and argued the appeal, under firm principal Joel Rudin’s supervision.

You can read the Second Circuit’s opinion here.