Matter of Baxton v Goord
2008 NY Slip Op 04410 [51 AD3d 1230]
May 15, 2008
Appellate Division, Third Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
As corrected through Wednesday, July 16, 2008


In the Matter of James Baxton, Petitioner, v Glenn S. Goord, as Commissioner of Correctional Services, et al., Respondents.

[*1] James Baxton, Pine City, petitioner pro se.

Andrew M. Cuomo, Attorney General, Albany (Marcus J. Mastracco of counsel), for respondents.

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

Following a tier III disciplinary hearing, petitioner was found guilty of unauthorized exchange and possession of an authorized item in an unauthorized area. That determination was affirmed upon administrative appeal, prompting petitioner to commence this CPLR article 78 proceeding.[FN*]

We confirm. The Hearing Officer did not err in denying petitioner's request to inspect a particular document, as petitioner failed to explain how that document pertained to his defense (see Matter of Green v Goord, 24 AD3d 1141, 1142 [2005]; Matter of Porter v Goord, 298 AD2d 723, 724 [2002]). Petitioner's allegation of hearing officer bias is not preserved and, in any event, is not persuasive (see Matter of Holmes v Brown, 43 AD3d 1234, 1235 [2007], lv denied 9 NY3d 815 [2007]; Matter of Torres v Coombe, 234 AD2d 710, 710 [1996]).

Peters, J.P., Rose, Kane, Malone Jr. and Stein, JJ., concur. Adjudged that the determination is confirmed, without costs, and petition dismissed.

Footnotes


Footnote *: Although the petition raised the issue of substantial evidence and the proceeding was transferred to this Court on that basis, petitioner has abandoned that issue by failing to raise it in his brief (see Matter of Edwards v Artis, 47 AD3d 1175, 1176 n [2008]).