PETITIONER’S REQUEST FOR TWO WITNESSES SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DENIED, NEW HEARING ORDERED (THIRD DEPT).
The Third Department, ordering new hearing, determined petitioner’s request to call witnesses should not have been denied:
… [T]he Hearing Officer improperly denied petitioner’s request to call as witnesses the two inmates who were housed on each side of his cell, as their potential testimony was highly relevant to petitioner’s defense that he was in his cell during the time of the underlying incident … . However, inasmuch as the Hearing Officer acted in good faith in denying the request on the ground of relevancy, petitioner’s regulatory right to call witnesses was violated and a new hearing on these charges, rather than expungement, is the appropriate remedy … . Matter of Parker v Annucci, 2019 NY Slip Op 06658, Third Dept 9-19-19