A judge on Tuesday tossed a lawsuit from a former Rikers inmate and “Jeopardy!” contestant who says the city fails to provide inmates with basic necessities.
Winston Nguyen, 33, brought the case in July after spending four months in jail, claiming that the Department of Correction censored newspapers and failed to provide him and other inmates with socks and underwear.
But the case is moot, because Nguyen is no longer an inmate, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Carol Edmead ruled, while suggesting that Nguyen may have more success filing a class action on behalf of all Rikers inmates.
“When you are released you are no longer in the position that you need them to do that for you,” Edmead said before tossing the case.
But Nguyen — who stole $300,000 from an elderly couple he cared for as a home health aide — argued he couldn’t have filed the case from inside Rikers, because he didn’t have adequate computer access, prompt mail delivery or the legal wherewithal to do so.
Edmead countered that there are special procedures in place to help inmate lawsuits get seen by judges promptly.
“We get many petitions from incarcerated plaintiffs,” Edmead said. “In less than 120 days, your case would be before this court.”
After court, Nguyen told The Post he intends to appeal Edmead’s ruling and will also consider filing a class-action lawsuit against the city.
“That is always going to be the problem. By the time you’re seen [in court], the city will always say it’s moot and we can’t provide you any relief because you’re not in custody,” Nguyen said. “You’re not equipped with the resources you need to file and write a good petition that wouldn’t be dismissed. You don’t have that until you’re outside.”
“Underwear is not headline news. The more we let them get away with the small things, the easier it is for them to get away with bigger things,” he said.
Nguyen — who twice called in to a radio show from Rikers to speak with Mayor Bill de Blasio about the conditions there — spent from Jan. 10 to May 8 in jail awaiting trial and was sentenced earlier this month to time served as part of a plea deal.