Melino v. State of New York et al, No. 9:2006cv01173 - Document 91 (N.D.N.Y 2010)

Court Description: DECISION & ORDER granting in part and denying in part Defendant's # 74 Motion to Quash Plaintiff's trial subpoenas. Signed by Judge Glenn T. Suddaby on 8/10/10. (lmw)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ______________________________________________ JOSEPH MELINO, Plaintiff, 9:06-CV-1173 (GTS/DRH) v. WILLIAM TOTTEN, PHILIP ABITABLE, PAULETTE MILLER; LOYCE DUKE, FRANCIS CARUSO, PAUL CUSHMAN; and DEBRA JOY, Defendants. ______________________________________________ APPEARANCES: OF COUNSEL: LAW OFFICE OF ANTHONY J. COLLELUORI Counsel for Plaintiff 180 Froehlich Farm Boulevard Woodbury, NY 11797 ANTHONY J. COLLELUORI, ESQ. DIANE C. PETILLO, ESQ. HON. ANDREW M. CUOMO Attorney General for the State of New York Counsel for Defendants The Capitol Albany, NY 12224-0341 CHRISTOPHER W. HALL, ESQ. Assistant Attorney General HON. GLENN T. SUDDABY, United States District Judge ORDER Currently before the Court in this prisoner civil rights action, filed by Joseph Melino ( Plaintiff ) against the seven above-captioned employees of the New York State Department of Correctional Services ( Defendants ), is Defendants motion to quash Plaintiff s trial subpoenas for Defendants personal financial information, and Plaintiff s trial subpoenas for two nonparty witnesses (specifically, Deputy Commissioners Donald Selsky and Israel Rivera). (Dkt. No. 74.) After carefully considering the parties motion papers (Dkt. Nos. 74, 88), and the oral arguments they made to the Court on August 6, 2010, the Court grants Defendants motion to the extent it requests the quashing of Plaintiff s trial subpoenas for Defendants personal financial information. However, the Court denies the remainder of Defendants motion as unsupported by a showing of cause based on the current record.1 The Court hastens to add that this Order in no way precludes Defendants from making objections at trial that, even if the proffered testimony of Deputy Commissioners Selsky and Rivera is relevant under Fed. R. Evid. 401, the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, and/or misleading the jury substantially outweighs the bulk of that testimony under Fed. R. Evid. 403. Of particular concern to the Court is the extent to which the proffered testimony in question is not based on the witness s personal knowledge, and/or invades the province of the jury as the determiner of ultimate facts. ACCORDINGLY, it is ORDERED that Defendants motion to quash Plaintiff s trial subpoenas is (Dkt. No. 78) GRANTED in part and DENIED in part, as stated above. Date: August 10, 2010 Syracuse, New York 1 The Court notes that, during the parties oral argument on August 6, 2010, Plaintiff voluntarily withdrew four other trial subpoenas (specifically, his subpoenas for Deputy Commissioner Richard Roy, Temporary Release Reviewer Rachel Young, Parole Officer Ronald Hotaling, and Parole Officer Robert Mroczek). As a result, to the extent Defendants motion to quash regarded those four trial subpoenas, that motion has been rendered moot.

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