You are here: / / HEARING OFFICER’S FAILURE TO INQUIRE INTO A WITNESS’S REFUSAL TO T...

HEARING OFFICER’S FAILURE TO INQUIRE INTO A WITNESS’S REFUSAL TO TESTIFY REQUIRED ANNULMENT.

The Third Department annulled the determination because the hearing officer did not inquire into the reason for an inmate witness’s refusal to testify:

​

… [P]etitioner] asserts that the Hearing Officer failed to make any inquiry into the reason that an inmate, who had initially agreed to testify, later changed his mind. The record discloses that this inmate told petitioner’s assistant that he would testify at the hearing, but subsequently refused. Although the inmate did not execute a witness refusal form, he signed a written statement indicating that he did not want to testify out of fear of retaliation. At the hearing, petitioner expressed his desire to have this inmate testify because he was housed in a location where he may have witnessed the incidents in question, and he requested that the Hearing Officer ascertain whether the inmate’s refusal was legitimate. The Hearing Officer did not conduct any further inquiry, and ultimately denied the inmate as a witness.

​

The Court of Appeals recently held in Matter of Cortorreal v Annucci (28 NY3d 54, 60 [2016]) that where “a refusing inmate witness claims that he or she was coerced into refusing to testify at the hearing . . ., the hearing officer has an obligation to undertake a meaningful inquiry into the allegation.” Here, as in Matter of Cortorreal v Annucci (supra), the Hearing Officer did not make any inquiry of the inmate regarding his fear of retaliation, which was clearly a form of coercion. Rather, the Hearing Officer proceeded to deny petitioner’s request for this witness as redundant ,,, . In the circumstances presented, the subsequent denial does not excuse the Hearing Officer’s failure to make a further inquiry into the inmate’s refusal. Matter of Kalwasinski v Venettozzi, 2017 NY Slip Op 03092, 3rd Dept 4-20-17

 

DISCIPLINARY HEARINGS (INMATES) (HEARING OFFICER’S FAILURE TO INQUIRE INTO A WITNESS’S REFUSAL TO TESTIFY REQUIRED ANNULMENT)

You might also like
CLAIMANT-NURSE’S MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS WERE NOT COMPENSABLE AS THEY WERE NOT CAUSED BY GREATER THAN NORMAL STRESSORS (THIRD DEPT). ​
Plaintiffs Demonstrated They Acquired Title to Property with Cabin by Adverse Possession
Employer Did Not Submit Employee Benefit Plan as Required by Workers’ Compensation Law 25 (4) (c)—Therefore the Employer Was Entitled to Reimbursement Only for the Workers’ Compensation Benefits Paid to the Employee and Not for the Amounts Paid Under the Employee Benefit Plan
IN THIS TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS PROCEEDING, PETITIONER DID NOT MEET ITS BURDEN TO PROVE IT MADE DILIGENT EFFORTS TO ASSIST RESPONDENT MOTHER IN ADDRESSING HER MENTAL HEALTH; MOTHER’S PARENTAL RIGHTS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN TERMINANTED (THIRD DEPT).
QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER DRIVER WITH RIGHT OF WAY HAD TIME TO TAKE EVASIVE ACTION TO AVOID A CAR CROSSING HIS PATH TO MAKE A LEFT TURN (THIRD DEPT).
Criteria for Presentation of Exculpatory Evidence to the Grand Jury Explained (Not Met Here)
Subsequent Action Which Included Claims Which Could Have Been Raised in the First Action Precluded by Doctrine of Res Judicata
THE BEST EVIDENCE OF THE VALUE OF REAL PROPERTY FOR PROPERTY-TAX-ASSESSMENT PURPOSES IS A RECENT ARMS-LENGTH SALE; ASSESSMENT REDUCED (THIRD DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

COURT IMPROPERLY REQUIRED DEFENDANT TO WAIVE HIS RIGHT TO APPEAL, DEFENDANT’S... JUDGE’S REFUSAL TO ACCEPT PARTIES’ AGREEMENT ON ALL BUT ONE ISSUE...