ALBANY -- A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit by female inmates alleging civil rights violations for rape and improper touching by guards in New York's prisons.
The Second Circuit appeals panel sent the case back to U.S. District Court in Manhattan to try to determine if the case should proceed as a class-action suit on behalf of some 2,200 current prisoners, as well as future female inmates, and whether better protective measures should be required.
The Second Circuit panel concluded U.S. District Judge Kevin Duffy was wrong to dismiss the claims of women who have already been released from prison. The panel said Duffy properly dismissed claims of those who had not exhausted internal grievance procedures.
The three-judge panel cited at least three ex-inmates who still have status to sue and challenge prison policy on behalf of the group. Judge Ralph Winter noted in the ruling that women in Department of Correctional Services custody are deemed incapable of consenting to sex under New York law. He wrote that the New York prison system's sex crimes unit receives more than 200 complaints of misconduct every year.
Spokeswoman Linda Foglia said the Department of Correctional Services doesn't comment on pending litigation
-- Associated Press
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