Cortez v. Coughlin

Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court at Special Term (Hughes, J.), entered May 8, 1985 in Albany County, which granted petitioner’s application, in a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78, to annul a determination of respondent finding petitioner guilty of violating certain disciplinary rules.

At issue on this appeal is whether there was a rational basis for the determination to exclude petitioner from his administrative disciplinary hearing during the testimony of inmate witnesses. In view of the long history of assaultive and disruptive behavior on the part of petitioner and the…