Brown v. Ristich

The question presented is whether unsworn testimony may be received and given effect in an administrative disciplinary proceeding under 'section 75 of the Civil Service Law. The problem arises out of the dismissal of the petitioner, an attendant at Willowbrook State Hospital for the Mentally Retarded, found to have struck a patient. The evidence against petitioner consisted in large part of the eyewitness testimony of the victim and another patient, both of whom were found by the hearing examiner to be incapable of understanding the nature of the oath.

Petitioner, a ward attendant with 17…