People v. Pickett

Chief Judge Fuld.

This case is the first to reach our court in which a strong argument is made that some aspect of social welfare legislation conflicts with traditional concepts of civil liberties. (See, generally, Jones, The Rule of Law and the Welfare State, 58 Col. L. Rev. 143; Reich, Individual Rights and Social Welfare: The Emerging Legal Issues, 74 Yale L. J. 1245; Note, 67 Col. L. Rev. 84.) More particularly, we are called upon to consider whether a welfare recipient may be imprisoned for his refusal to accept available employment.

It is a basic tenet of the Social Welfare Law that “ No…