Wright v. Superintendent

Filing 33

ORDER: ORDERED that OMH provide Respondent with copies of Petitioner Wright's mental health treatment records covering any and all mental health services provided to Wright at the Central New York Psychiatric Center and DOCCS correctional facil ities, for the period beginning on March 10, 2010, through October 23, 2012. ORDERED that Respondent serve a copy of this Order on OMH by mail within five (5) days of filing. ORDERED that OMH provides Respondent with copies of the records ordered herein within thirty (30) days of receipt of a copy of this Order. Signed by Magistrate Judge Therese Wiley Dancks on 6/28/16. (served on petitioner by regular mail)(alh, )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
_______________________________________________
LEONARD F. WRIGHT,
Petitioner,
9:12-CV-01861
v.
(GLS/TWD)
SUPERINTENDENT,
Respondent.
_______________________________________________
APPEARANCES:

OF COUNSEL:

LEONARD F. WRIGHT
07-B-1667
Petitioner pro se
Coxsackie Correctional Facility
P.O. Box 000
Coxsackie, New York 12051
HON. ERIC T. SCHNEIDERMAN
Attorney General for the State of New York
Counsel for Respondent
120 Broadway
New York, New York 10271

PAUL B. LYONS, ESQ.
Assistant Attorneys General

THÉRÈSE WILEY DANCKS, United States Magistrate Judge
ORDER
On October 23, 2012, Petitioner Leonard F. Wright (“Wright”), an inmate in the custody
of New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (“DOCCS”)
presently housed in Coxsackie Correctional Institution, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus
in the Northern District of New York. (Dkt. No. 1). On April 24, 2013, Wright filed a motion
for issuance of a judicial subpoena directed at Respondent for the production of Wright’s records
for the mental health treatment he has received from the New York State Office of Mental Health

(“OMH”) through the Central New York Psychiatric Center (“CNYPC”) and DOCCS during his
incarceration. (Dkt. No. 16.) The request for the records was made by Wright for the purpose of
opposing Respondent’s request for dismissal of Wright’s habeas petition on statute of limitations
grounds. Id.
On March 7, 2016, the Court issued a Text Order directing Respondent to provide the
Court with copies of Wright’s mental health records for consideration on Wright’s argument that
the statute of limitations on his habeas petition should be equitably tolled because his mental
illness prevented him from filing in a timely manner. (Dkt. No. 26.) On June 23, 2016,
Respondent’s counsel informed the Court that OMH officials had advised him that in order to
obtain Petitioner’s mental health records, Respondent would be required to submit either: (1) an
OMH release form signed by Petitioner; or a court order pursuant to New York Mental Hygiene
Law § 33.13(c)(1) “requiring disclosure upon a finding by the court that the interests of justice
significantly outweigh the need for confidentiality.” N.Y. Mental Hyg. Law § 33.13(c)(1)
(McKinney 2016).
The Court hereby finds that the interests of justice, i.e., the availability of Wright’s
mental health records for consideration by the Court in connection with Wright’s argument that
the statute of limitations on his habeas petition should be equitably tolled, significantly outweigh
the need for confidentiality in this matter, and orders the OMH to provide Respondent with
copies of Petitioner’s mental health treatment records. The Court further finds that the period for
which records are to be produced begins on March 10, 2010, the date the statute of limitations
began to run under the AEDAP, through October 23, 2012, the date on which Wright filed his
habeas petition.
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WHEREFORE, it is hereby
ORDERED that OMH provide Respondent with copies of Petitioner Wright’s mental
health treatment records covering any and all mental health services provided to Wright at the
Central New York Psychiatric Center and DOCCS correctional facilities, for the period
beginning on March 10, 2010, through October 23, 2012; and it is further
ORDERED that Respondent serve a copy of this Order on OMH by mail within five (5)
days of filing; and it is further
ORDERED that OMH provides Respondent with copies of the records ordered herein
within thirty (30) days of receipt of a copy of this Order; and it is further
ORDERED that the Clerk mail a copy of this Order to Petitioner.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: June 28, 2016
Syracuse, New York

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