Kozlowski v. Coughlin

KAUFMAN, IRVING R. Circuit Judge:

Penal institutions operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services (the Commissioner or DOCS) provide inmates the opportunity to maintain tangible and healthy relationships with friends and family beyond the prison gates via a program of supervised visitation. Indeed, the New York State Constitution recognizes that inmates in New York have a fundamental right to maintain these bonds. See Cooper v. Morin, 49 N.Y.2d 69, 79-83, 399 N.E.2d 1188, 1194-95, 424 N.Y.S.2d 168, 174-76 (1979), cert. denied, 446 U.S. 984, 100 S.Ct. 2965, 64 L.Ed.2d 840…