You are here: / / JAIL IS NOT A ‘PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION’ WITHIN THE MEANING OF...

JAIL IS NOT A ‘PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION’ WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE NYS HUMAN RIGHTS LAW; THE STATE DIVISION OF HUMAN RIGHTS THEREFORE DID NOT HAVE JURISDICTION TO HEAR PETITIONER’S ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT ALLEGING UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION IN JAIL (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department determined jail is not a “public accommodation” within the meaning of the Human Rights Law. Therefore petitioner’s administrative complaint alleging unlawful discrimination in the jail was properly dismissed by the NYS Division of Human Rights (SDHR) for lack of jurisdiction:

SDHR has jurisdiction to, inter alia, investigate and adjudicate complaints of unlawful discrimination in the provision of any “public accommodation, resort or amusement” (Executive Law § 296 [2] [a]; see § 295 [6] … ). For purposes of the Human Rights Law, a “public accommodation, resort or amusement” offers ” conveniences and services to the public’ ” and is “generally open to all comers” … , and it defies logic to suggest that law enforcement is providing ” conveniences’ ” or ” services’ ” to those arrested and detained … . Nor is arrest and detention “open to all comers” in any sense … . Indeed, it well established that “prison facilities do not cater or offer [their] goods to the general public” … . To the contrary, arrest and detention is imposed upon a person by law enforcement and the criminal courts, not provided to those arrested and detained as a service for their benefit. The process of arresting and incarcerating a person is, “by its very nature,” a governmentally decreed “separat[ion of] the general public from the individuals who are compelled by our penal system to be confined” … .

In short, although we note SDHR’s concession at oral argument that governmental entities such as police agencies could provide public accommodations within the meaning of the Human Rights Law under certain circumstances, we join the consensus of courts nationwide in concluding that arrest and incarceration are “properly viewed as the antithesis of a . . . public accommodation’ ” … . Matter of LeTray v New York State Div. of Human Rights, 2020 NY Slip Op 01978, Fourth Dept 3-20-20

 

You might also like
DEFENDANT WAS ENTITLED TO SEVERANCE FROM THE CODEFENDANTS, CODEFENDANTS TOOK AN AGGRESSIVE ADVERSERIAL STANCE AGAINST DEFENDANT AT TRIAL, NEW TRIAL ORDERED.
THE MANAGER OF PLAINTIFF BAR PUSHED A MAN DOWN A SET OF STAIRS CAUSING FATAL INJURIES; THE ASSAULT AND BATTERY EXCLUSION IN DEFENDANT’S INSURANCE POLICY APPLIED AND THE INSURER WAS NOT OBLIGATED TO DEFEND THE BAR (FOURTH DEPT).
EIGHT YEAR OLD STUDENT MISSED HIS BUS AND WAS ALLEGEDLY TOLD BY A SCHOOL EMPLOYEE TO WALK HOME, THE STUDENT WAS STRUCK BY A CAR ON HIS WAY HOME, THE NEGLIGENT SUPERVISION COMPLAINT AGAINST THE SCHOOL DISTRICT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (FOURTH DEPT).
PETITIONER SEX OFFENDER WAS ENTITLED TO A HEARING WITH LIVE WITNESSES AT WHICH HE MAY TESTIFY IN THE ANNUAL REVIEW OF HIS CONFINEMENT UNDER THE MENTAL HYGIENE LAW; SUPREME COURT HAD ORDERED A HEARING CONDUCTED BY WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS (FOURTH DEPT).
ALTHOUGH DEFENDANT’S STRICT AND INTENSIVE SUPERVISION AND TREATMENT (SIST) CONDITIONS WERE VIOLATED, THE VIOLATIONS PERTAINED TO DRUG USE, NOT SEXUAL MISCONDUCT, EVIDENCE LINKING DEFENDANT’S COCAINE USE TO SEXUAL AROUSAL WAS DEEMED SUFFICIENT TO WARRANT CIVIL COMMITMENT.
SCHOOL DISTRICT’S TERMINATION OF A CERTAIN HEALTH INSURANCE OPTION FOR RETIREES WAS NOT QUASI-LEGISLATIVE, THEREFORE MAILING THE NOTIFICATION LETTER DID NOT TRIGGER THE FOUR-MONTH STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR AN ARTICLE 78 CONTESTING THE ACTION.
THE EVIDENCE THAT DEFENDANT HAD USED ALCOHOL TO EXCESS AT THE TIME OF THE CRIME WAS CONFLICTING AND INSUFFICIENT; IN ADDITION, THE DEFENDANT WAS NOT IN CUSTODY OR UNDER SUPERVISION AT THE TIME OF ALLEGED MISCONDUCT; THEREFORE 25 POINTS WERE TAKEN OFF DEFENDANT’S RISK-LEVEL ASSESSMENT (FOURTH DEPT).
OVER A TWO-JUSTICE DISSENT, THE MATTER WAS SENT BACK FOR A RULING ON WHETHER THE PEOPLE COMPLIED WITH THEIR DISCOVERY OBLIGATIONS RE: LAW ENFORCEMENT DISCIPLINARY RECORDS (FOURTH DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

SELF-SERVING AFFIDAVIT FROM DEFENDANT DID NOT REBUT THE PRESUMPTION OF THE VALIDITY... BECAUSE DEFENDANT INVOKED HIS RIGHT TO COUNSEL WHEN HE WAS NOT IN CUSTODY HE...