Citing Progress at Rikers, Judge Says New York Is No Longer in Contempt

A federal judge in New York has lifted a contempt of court order against the city Correction Department, saying the agency has made progress in tracking cases where correction officers use excessive force at the Rikers Island jail complex.

In December, the judge, Laura T. Swain, found that the agency had failed to collaborate with a federal monitor who has overseen the jail system since 2015. The department has since developed a clear and detailed plan for how it will communicate with the monitor, Judge Swain said in documents filed on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court.

The ruling is a crucial step in the city’s efforts to avert the yearslong threat to remove its control of Rikers. In November, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, asked the judge to hand over control of Rikers to an outside authority, arguing that was the only way to end the violence and chaos at the jail complex. Mr. Williams said the Correction Department had been “unable or unwilling” to make changes to reduce violence and to “remedy the ongoing violation of the constitutional rights of people in custody.”

The judge’s decision follows the appointment of a new Correction Department commissioner, Lynelle Maginley-Liddie. She was sworn in on Dec. 8, about two weeks before Judge Swain issued the contempt order, and she vowed to cooperate more fully with the monitor, Steve J. Martin.

In Tuesday’s ruling, Judge Swain acknowledged that the agency had since “made important strides in returning to a more collaborative and transparent relationship” with Mr. Martin.

But she added: “The level of danger posed to individuals in custody and employees at Rikers Island is still unacceptable.” The court, she said, expects “rapid changes to ensure the safety of those who live and work there.”