76 A.D.2d 980 | N.Y. App. Div. | 1980
Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court at Special Term, entered February 20, 1980 in Washington County, which granted petitioners’ application, in a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78, to direct respondents to afford petitioners visitation privileges enjoyed by the general population at the Great Meadow Correctional Facility. On May 31, 1979, respondent Superintendent of Great Meadow Correctional Facility advised the inmate population of the facility that a restricted visiting area had been constructed in the visiting room which would be a noncontact visiting area. This restricted visiting area consisted of small cubicles, the upper walls of which were constructed of plexiglass. The inmates were further advised that effective June 1, 1979, any inmate reported for possession of contraband from an outside source may be subjected to disciplinary action by having his visiting privileges limited to the restricted visiting area. Petitioners, all inmates at the Great Meadow Correctional Facility, were subsequently found, after superintendent proceedings, to have violated institutional rules by being in possession of contraband in the form of marihuana. As punishment for violating the institutional rules, each petitioner was placed under keep-lock or assigned to the special housing unit; incurred loss of good time varying from 60 to 90 days; loss of commissary privileges during the period that they were under keep-lock or in the special housing unit; and, in addition, were subjected to visits in the restricted visiting area with no contact visits for periods ranging from 180 days to 270 days. After exhausting the administrative remedies available to them, petitioners commenced this proceeding under CPLR article 78. Special Term, upon a finding that there was no evidence showing that the contraband found in petitioners’ possession was the result of contact visitation, determined that the imposition of restricted visitation was an abuse of discretion and directed that petitioners be afforded forthwith the rights of contact visitation in common with the inmates in the general population. Subdivision 2 of section 18 of the Correction Law grants to the superintendent of a correctional facility broad supervisory and managerial authority, so long as such authority is exercised in accordance with the rules and