Moore v. Coughlin
| Decision Date | 07 February 1991 |
| Citation | 170 A.D.2d 723,565 N.Y.S.2d 606 |
| Parties | In the Matter of Oscar MOORE, Petitioner, v. Thomas A. COUGHLIN, as Commissioner of the New York State Department of Correctional Services, et al., Respondents. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
Calvin Eleby, Jr., Plattsburgh, for petitioner.
Robert Abrams, Atty. Gen. (Martin A. Hotvet, of counsel), Albany, for respondents.
Before MAHONEY, P.J., and CASEY, WEISS, MERCURE and HARVEY, JJ.
Proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 () to review a determination of respondent Commissioner of Correctional Services which found petitioner guilty of violating certain prison disciplinary rules.
The sole issue in this proceeding is whether substantial evidence supports respondents' disciplinary determination. Petitioner was charged with extortion of other inmates, threats of violence and unauthorized exchange of goods. The allegations of these violations were contained in a misbehavior report written by a correction sergeant based on his investigation. After informing petitioner, the Hearing Officer interviewed the correction sergeant confidentially and, citing "institutional safety", denied petitioner access to the transcript of the correction sergeant's testimony and the documentary evidence that he had provided. Petitioner was found guilty of threats and extortion but not guilty of unauthorized exchange. On petitioner's administrative appeal this determination was affirmed.
Determinations based on confidential information present a credibility issue for determination by the Hearing Officer (see, Matter of Burgos v. Coughlin, 108 A.D.2d 194, 488 N.Y.S.2d 847, lv. denied 66 N.Y.2d 603, 498 N.Y.S.2d 1023, 489 N.E.2d 256). The record must show that the Hearing Officer had a basis from which to make his own independent determination of the confidential informant's credibility (Matter of Wynter v. Jones, 135 A.D.2d 1032, 522 N.Y.S.2d 966); the Hearing Officer may not rely on a third-party's credibility assessment (Matter of Kalonji v. Coughlin, 157 A.D.2d 941, 550 N.Y.S.2d 201). The record reveals that the Hearing Officer here made the required objective analysis and found the confidential information to be concise and credible, and further found sufficient documentation from both inmate and employee sources to substantiate the report. The documentary evidence submitted to this court for in camera review supplies substantial evidence of the charges found against petitioner. This evidence...
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