Lebron v. Mrzyglod

Background

Angel D. Lebron, Jr., an incarcerated person proceeding without a lawyer, sued employees of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged violations of his Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights arising from an alleged assault and a disciplinary hearing concerning alleged possession of a razor-blade weapon and related misconduct.

The supplemental motion addressed only claims against retired hearing officer Bruce Levine and Superintendent William Lee. It did not address the excessive-force claim concerning the first use-of-force incident in the F and G Corridor.

Claim Against Levine

Lebron alleged that Levine violated procedural due process during the disciplinary hearing by failing to ask witnesses various questions about when and where Lebron possessed the alleged weapon. Lebron received fourteen months in the Special Housing Unit and fourteen months of restrictions on packages, commissary, phone use, and good time. The court determined that this punishment implicated a liberty interest, so the issue was whether the hearing provided constitutionally adequate procedures.

The court reviewed the newly submitted hearing transcript. It found that Lebron questioned multiple correction officers extensively about the alleged weapon, the incident, the officers’ observations, and the chain of custody. Levine refused some proposed questions because they were irrelevant, argumentative, speculative, or sought witnesses’ opinions about Lebron’s state of mind. The court held that these limits fell within the hearing officer’s discretion and that Lebron received enough opportunity to question witnesses to satisfy due process.

The court also found evidence supporting the disciplinary finding. Bader testified that he saw Lebron throw an object near garbage cans and later recovered it; Williams testified that he saw Lebron throw an object before facing him aggressively; and Mrzyglod testified that he later saw a small blade-like object near the garbage cans. The court stated that this evidence met the requirement that a disciplinary decision be supported by at least some evidence.

Claim Against Lee

Lebron alleged that Lee failed to protect him from the December 26, 2013 incident because Lebron had submitted a grievance about an alleged threat from Mrzyglod. The court considered records showing that the grievance office received the grievance on January 2, 2014, and that Lee first became involved that day when he confirmed its classification. Although Lebron had written December 21, 2013, on the grievance, the court found that the supplemental records did not create a genuine factual dispute about when Lee received it. The court therefore held that Lee was not personally involved in the alleged failure to protect.

Disposition

Judge KENWETH M. KARA granted the defendants’ Supplemental Motion for Summary Judgment in favor of Levine and Lee. The court ordered that Levine and Lee be terminated from the case and directed the clerk to terminate the motion. The court did not decide the excessive-force claim excluded from the supplemental motion. It also found it unnecessary to address qualified immunity because it concluded that no constitutional violation had occurred as to these claims.