Boyd v. Guthrie

Background

Plaintiff Nyjee Boyd requested disciplinary records for several defendants employed by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. The complaint alleged various forms of mistreatment, including use of force, loss of privileges, failure to provide medical treatment, sexual assault, destruction of property, threats, and failure to protect Boyd from other incarcerated people.

The defendants objected that the request was overbroad, irrelevant, unduly burdensome, and not proportional to the needs of the case. They also argued that the records were confidential, that disclosing staff information to an incarcerated person could create security risks, and that the defendants had not been disciplined for the conduct alleged in the complaint.

Discovery Dispute

The dispute that led to the order concerned Correctional Officer Cesar Gonzalez. In response to an interrogatory, Gonzalez stated that he had been the subject of investigations involving complaints of excessive use of force and inappropriate touching, but that the complaints were found unsubstantiated. The defendants maintained that this information did not require production of the underlying disciplinary records.

The court stated that a plaintiff may be entitled to disciplinary information concerning conduct similar to the conduct alleged in the complaint or information that raises questions about a defendant’s credibility, regardless of whether the underlying allegations were substantiated. The court found that the allegations involving Gonzalez were similar to conduct Boyd alleged in his complaint.

Ruling

Judge Victoria Reznik denied the request to withhold Gonzalez’s disciplinary records, pending the court’s private review of the records. The court directed the defendants to submit Gonzalez’s disciplinary records for that review no later than November 1, 2024. The order did not direct that the records immediately be produced to Boyd.

The clerk was directed to close the motion at ECF No. 97.