Messiah v. New York State Department of Correctional Services

Proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 (transferred to this Court by order of the Supreme Court, entered in Ulster County) to review a determination of the Commissioner of Correctional Services which found petitioner guilty of violating a prison disciplinary rule.

Petitioner, an inmate, provided a letter containing statements of a personal nature to a female prison counselor. Petitioner was not part of the counselor’s caseload and he had no prison-related reason to correspond or communicate with her. According to the counselor, the content of the letter and the manner in which petitioner…