§ 196. Violations of institutional labor regulations. Any contract
made by the commissioner of correction or warden of any prison, or by
any officer or any other authority whatsoever, of any prison,
reformatory, penitentiary or other correctional institution of this
state, in violation of, or contrary to, the provisions of this article,
shall be null and void. It shall be the duty of any such officer or
authorities to furnish to the attorney-general, upon demand therefor, a
true copy, if in writing, and if not, in substance, of any contract made
by such officer or authorities, relating in any way to the system of
labor adopted, or to the employment of prisoners in any of said prisons,
reformatories, penitentiaries or other correctional institutions.
Whenever the attorney-general shall be satisfied that any contract made
as aforesaid is contrary to or in violation of this article, or that any
of the officers or authorities aforesaid have entered into or are
engaged in any contract or arrangement for the labor of prisoners, or
relating to the system adopted or continued in said institutions, which
contract or arrangement is contrary to or in violation of law as
aforesaid, if he shall be of the opinion that the facts require such
action, he is hereby authorized to bring an action in the supreme court
in the name of the people of the state of New York, in any county which
he may select, for the purpose of testing the validity of any contract
or arrangement made by any of the officers herein named, relating in any
way to the system of labor adopted, or the employment of prisoners in
any of said prisons, reformatories, penitentiaries or other correctional
institutions, or to determine the validity of any act or thing done by
any officer herein mentioned, which act or thing shall be alleged to
have been in violation of this article. Any party to such contract,
agreement or arrangement as aforesaid, or interested in the
determination of such action, shall be made defendant, and pending the
trial or hearing of the facts alleged, or of any issue made as
aforesaid, the court shall, upon notice of the attorney-general, and
upon a petition duly verified showing the making of any contract or
arrangement in violation of the provisions of this article, or the doing
of any act or thing by any of the parties defendant, in violation of
this article, grant an injunction order, restraining the parties named
in said order from the further prosecution of the business complained
of, or from the further performance of the contract or arrangement
claimed to have been entered into as aforesaid, and to restrain and
enjoin such officer from the further continuance of any act alleged to
be in violation of this article. And any disobedience of such injunction
order shall be punishable as provided by article nineteen of the
judiciary law. And upon any trial had, judgment shall follow the
findings of fact made by the court or jury, as in other cases, and with
costs, in the discretion of the court.