Johnson v. Rockefeller

HAYS, Circuit Judge:

This class action challenged the constitutionality of New York Civil Rights Law §§79 and 79-a (McKinney’s Consol. *378Laws, c. 6, Supp. 1972) as they stood on the date of argument, March 8, 1973.1 The plaintiffs sought injunctive and declaratory relief against the enforcement *380of those statutes insofar as they deprived convicted and incarcerated felons of (1) access to the state courts to sue for money damage claims and (2) the right to marry. The named plaintiffs in this suit are all inmates in the Green Haven Correctional Facility in New York State and are serving terms up to…