Jail and prison abuse
A person in custody is protected by the Constitution, but by a different clause depending on why they are there, and the difference decides the case. A pretrial detainee's force claim needs only objective unreasonableness. A convicted prisoner's claim for a known risk of serious harm needs deliberate indifference. A person still inside must finish the facility's grievance process before suing, and those deadlines are counted in days. Which agency ran the facility decides which court hears the state claim and whether a notice of claim is due in 90 days. This page goes through each.
Abuse in a jail or prison is the hardest police abuse claim to bring and the one where the paperwork decides the most. The witnesses are other prisoners and the officers. The footage belongs to the agency being sued. The person who was hurt is often still in the custody of the people who hurt him, and the law requires that person to complain through the facility's own process before a court will hear the case. This page goes through the constitutional standards, the grievance rule, which court hears which claim, and the clocks. The claims that most often arise inside, denied medical care and a death, have their own pages.
Two standards, depending on why you were there
Section 1983 supplies the cause of action (42 U.S.C. § 1983); the Constitution supplies the right, and which clause applies depends on your status. A person held before trial, at Rikers or a county jail on an open charge, has not been convicted of anything and cannot be punished. Their protection is the Fourteenth Amendment, and a pretrial detainee's excessive force claim requires only that the force was objectively unreasonable, not that the officer intended to punish (Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 576 U.S. 389 (2015)). A convicted prisoner serving a sentence is protected by the Eighth Amendment, and for a known risk of serious harm the test is deliberate indifference: the official must have known of and disregarded a substantial risk of serious harm to the prisoner, which is a subjective test about what the official actually knew (Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825 (1994)).
| Your status | Clause | The test | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pretrial detainee (held on an open charge) | Fourteenth Amendment | Force: objectively unreasonable, no intent required | Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 576 U.S. 389 (2015) |
| Convicted prisoner (serving a sentence) | Eighth Amendment | Known risk of serious harm: the official knew of and disregarded it | Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825 (1994) |
The Farmer standard is the one that governs most of what happens inside: an assault by another prisoner the staff had been warned about, a medical condition the staff were told about and ignored, conditions the staff knew were dangerous. The specific Eighth Amendment test for a use of force on a convicted prisoner is not published on this site, because it is not in our verified ledger. The difference between the two standards is the reason the first question we ask is whether you had been sentenced on the date of the incident, and a person held on a parole violation or a mix of charges may need a lawyer to answer it.
The grievance rule
The Prison Litigation Reform Act provides that "no action shall be brought with respect to prison conditions under section 1983 by a prisoner until such administrative remedies as are available are exhausted" (42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a)). That means the facility's grievance process, every step of it, on the facility's timetable, before the complaint is filed. The Supreme Court held in Ross v. Blake, 578 U.S. 632 (2016), that there is no "special circumstances" exception: a court may not excuse a failure to exhaust because the prisoner reasonably believed he had done enough. The only limit is in the word "available." A process that is a dead end, one so opaque that no ordinary prisoner can use it, or one that officials thwarted through misrepresentation or intimidation is not available, and a prisoner need not exhaust what does not exist.
The same statute limits damages. A prisoner may not bring a federal civil action for mental or emotional injury suffered in custody without a prior showing of physical injury or the commission of a sexual act (§ 1997e(e)). An assault that left marks meets the rule; a threat that left none is a harder case, though nominal damages for a completed constitutional violation remain available and keep a case alive (Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, 592 U.S. 279 (2021)).
Grievance deadlines are counted in days
Each facility's grievance rules set their own deadlines for the first complaint and for each appeal, and they are short. This site does not publish the Department of Correction's or DOCCS's grievance deadlines because they are not in our verified ledger; the facility's rulebook is the source, and it is applied by a lawyer to your dates. The rule that saves the case: file the grievance in writing as soon as the incident happens, keep a copy of everything you submit and everything you receive, and appeal every denial within the time the rulebook gives. A grievance that was filed, denied and appealed is the foundation of the lawsuit. One that was not filed is the end of it.
Which agency, which court
The federal claim under Section 1983 is against the individual officers, and it can be brought in federal court or in state court, which has concurrent jurisdiction; the Supreme Court held in Haywood v. Drown, 556 U.S. 729 (2009), that New York could not strip its own courts of Section 1983 damages suits against corrections officers. A defendant may remove a state-court case to federal court within 30 days of receiving the pleading (28 U.S.C. § 1446(b)(1)). The state-law claim is where the agency matters.
Rikers and the other City jails
The Department of Correction is a City agency, so the state-law claim is against the City of New York, and it requires a notice of claim served on the Comptroller within 90 days after the claim arises (N.Y. Gen. Mun. Law § 50-e(1)(a)), suit within one year and 90 days (§ 50-i(1)), and a 50-h examination if the City demands one within 90 days of the notice (§ 50-h). No notice is needed for the federal claim (Felder v. Casey, 487 U.S. 131 (1988)). The City's 2021 civil rights law, which removes the qualified immunity defense, does not reach a correction officer: a "covered individual" is an NYPD employee or special patrolman (N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-801). A county jail outside the City is the same rule with a different defendant: notice of claim within 90 days to the officer the statute designates for that county.
State prisons
A DOCCS facility belongs to the State, and the State and its agencies are not "persons" under Section 1983; a state official sued in an official capacity for damages is the State, though the same official may be sued in a personal capacity (Will v. Michigan Dep't of State Police, 491 U.S. 58 (1989)). So the federal claim runs against the officers personally, and the state-law claim against the State goes to the Court of Claims, where a claim or a notice of intention to file a claim must be filed and served within 90 days of accrual; a timely notice of intention extends the time to file the claim, two years for negligence and one year for intentional torts, and late-claim relief may be sought within the CPLR period (N.Y. Court of Claims Act §§ 10(3), 10(3-b), 10(6)).
| Facility | Federal claim | State-law claim | Notice | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rikers Island and other Department of Correction facilities | Against the officers; the City through Monell; 3 years | Against the City; suit within 1 year and 90 days | Notice of claim to the Comptroller, 90 days | Gen. Mun. Law §§ 50-e, 50-i, 50-h; CPLR 214(5) |
| A county jail outside the City | Same | Against the county; 1 year and 90 days | Notice of claim, 90 days, to the designated officer | Gen. Mun. Law §§ 50-e, 50-i |
| A DOCCS state prison | Against the officers personally only; 3 years | Against the State, in the Court of Claims | Claim or notice of intention, 90 days | Court of Claims Act §§ 10(3), 10(3-b), 10(6); Will v. Michigan |
| Any facility, person still inside | After the grievance process is exhausted | Same clocks | Same | 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a); Ross v. Blake |
The notice of claim page and the New York page go through each row.
Suing the City or the county
The City or county is a "person" under Section 1983 but is not liable merely because its officer was. It is liable only where an official policy or custom caused the violation (Monell v. Dep't of Social Servs., 436 U.S. 658 (1978)); a failure to train supports liability only where it amounts to deliberate indifference to the rights of the people the agency deals with (City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378 (1989)), and a pattern of similar violations is ordinarily needed to show it (Connick v. Thompson, 563 U.S. 51 (2011)). Isolated acts by non-policymaking employees are generally not enough to show a custom (Jones v. Town of East Haven, 691 F.3d 72 (2d Cir. 2012); Lucente v. County of Suffolk, 980 F.3d 284 (2d Cir. 2020)). In a jail case the pattern is often documented by the agency itself, in prior reports and prior findings about the same unit, which is why the request for those records goes out early. Punitive damages are available against the individual officers and never against the municipality (City of Newport v. Fact Concerts, 453 U.S. 247 (1981)), and a prevailing plaintiff may recover attorney's fees as part of costs (42 U.S.C. § 1988(b)). The Monell page and the damages page go through each.
The record from inside
A custody case is proved with the facility's own paper. Keep a copy of every grievance, every response and every appeal. Ask for medical attention after the incident and again if the injury changes, because the medical record is dated by the facility and is the hardest document for the agency to dispute. Write down the names or descriptions of every officer and every other person on the unit, and the date and time, on the day it happens. Tell a family member what happened, on a recorded call if that is the only call available, because a contemporaneous account has weight. Since the repeal of Civil Rights Law § 50-a in June 2020, an officer's disciplinary records are subject to FOIL with personal information redacted, and the disciplinary records page explains the request. Facility video is requested in writing, immediately; this site does not publish a retention period for it because none is in our verified ledger. The evidence page goes through each request.
If a criminal charge is still pending, the one that put you in the jail or a new one from the incident, talk to your defense lawyer before describing what happened to anyone outside the grievance process, and do not name officers in a letter or on a call you do not control. The criminal case and civil case page explains how the two cases are sequenced and why a plea can close a claim.
New Jersey and Florida
The constitutional standards and the grievance rule are federal and apply in all three states. The state-law companions differ. In New Jersey the federal claim and the New Jersey Civil Rights Act claim have two years (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2; 10:6-2). A state tort claim against the county or the State needs a Tort Claims Act notice within 90 days of accrual, a six-month wait, and suit within two years (N.J.S.A. 59:8-8), with a late notice possible within one year on extraordinary circumstances (59:8-9); the notice does not apply to the Civil Rights Act claim (Owens v. Feigin, 194 N.J. 607 (2008)). Qualified immunity applies to the Civil Rights Act claim as it does under Section 1983 (Morillo v. Torres, 222 N.J. 104 (2015)). New Jersey's body-worn camera retention statute excludes correctional police officers (N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118.5), so there is no statutory retention floor for jail footage to rely on and the written request goes out at once.
In Florida the federal claim has four years (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3); Doe v. Swearingen (11th Cir. 2022)). The state claim against the county or the Department of Corrections needs a written claim to the agency and, except for a city or county, to the Department of Financial Services within three years, with a six-month wait before suit (Fla. Stat. § 768.28(6)). Damages against the State and its subdivisions are capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, with no punitive damages; those are statutory caps, and the 2026 bill to raise them was vetoed on June 30, 2026 (§ 768.28(5)(a)). An officer has no personal liability under Florida law unless the officer acted in bad faith, with malicious purpose, or with wanton and willful disregard of human rights or safety (§ 768.28(9)(a)), which makes the federal claim the main one. The New Jersey and Florida pages go through each.
Care that was not given
Deliberate indifference to a known medical need, the detainee question, and what the records have to show.
Denial of medical care →A death inside
Who sues, what survives, the two-year clock, and the notice that runs from the estate's appointment.
Death in custody →Searched at intake
A strip search is a search. What this site publishes about it, what to document, and the clocks.
Strip search →Common questions
I am still inside. Can I sue now?
Not until the facility's grievance process has been taken to its last step. The Prison Litigation Reform Act bars a prisoner's Section 1983 action about prison conditions until available administrative remedies are exhausted, and the Supreme Court in Ross v. Blake held there is no special-circumstances exception. The only escape is that the remedy was not actually available: a dead end, a process too opaque to use, or officials who thwarted it. File the grievance now, keep a copy, and appeal every denial on time.
Does the New York City law with no qualified immunity cover correction officers at Rikers?
No. The 2021 law defines a covered individual as an NYPD employee or special patrolman. A Department of Correction officer is a City employee but not a covered individual, so the claim against a Rikers officer is under Section 1983, with qualified immunity as a defense, and under state law against the City with a 90-day notice of claim.
The facility was a state prison. Who do I sue?
The individual officers, under Section 1983, in their personal capacity. The State of New York and its agencies are not persons under Section 1983 and cannot be sued under it. The state-law claim against the State goes to the Court of Claims, where a claim or a notice of intention must be filed and served within 90 days of accrual.
How long do I have?
In New York the federal claim has three years, and for a person still inside the grievance process comes first. A state-law claim against the City for Rikers, or against a county for its jail, needs a notice of claim within 90 days and suit within one year and 90 days. A claim against the State for a DOCCS facility goes to the Court of Claims within 90 days. New Jersey and Florida have their own clocks, at the end of this page.
Tell us what happened.
One conversation with an attorney, in your language. We tell you which claims the facts support, which deadline runs first for the agency involved, what evidence to preserve this week, and whether a pending criminal case changes the timing. If it is not a case we can take, we say so and tell you where to go.
(718) 484-7510If a criminal charge is still open, talk to your defense lawyer before you describe the arrest to anyone, including us. English, Russian and Spanish in-house; an interpreter for any other language. Contingency fee, confirmed in writing before we begin.