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E.D.N.Y. Local Civil Rule 33.2

Standard Discovery in Prisoner Pro Se Actions

activein force · 2026-01-02 – presentact-effective-date

(a) This rule applies in any action commenced pro se in which the plaintiff’s complaint

includes any claim described in paragraph (b) of this rule and in which the

events alleged in the complaint occurred while the plaintiff was in the custody of

the New York State Department of Corrections & Community Supervision, the

Department of Correction of the City of New York, or any other jail, prison, or

correctional facility operated by or for a city, county, municipality, or other local

governmental entity (collectively, the “Department”).

Defendants represented by the Office of the New York State Attorney General, the

Office of the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, or counsel for or

appointed by the Department responsible for the jail, prison, or correctional

facility (collectively, the “Facility”), must respond to the standing discovery

requests adopted by the court, in accordance with the instructions and definitions

set forth in the standing requests, unless ordered otherwise by the court.

(b) The claims to which the standard discovery requests apply are Use of Force Cases,

Inmate Against Inmate Assault Cases, and Disciplinary Due Process Cases, as

defined below.

(1) “Use of Force Case” refers to an action in which the complaint alleges that an

employee of the Department or Facility used physical force against the plaintiff

in violation of the plaintiff’s rights.

(2) “Inmate Against Inmate Assault Case” refers to an action in which the

complaint alleges that an employee of the Department or Facility was

responsible for the plaintiff’s injury resulting from physical contact with

another inmate.

(3) “Disciplinary Due Process Case” refers to an action in which (i) the complaint

alleges that an employee of the Department or Facility violated or permitted

the violation of a right or rights in a disciplinary proceeding against

plaintiff, and (ii) the punishment imposed on plaintiff as a result of that

proceeding was placement in a special housing unit for more than 30 days.

(c) If a response to the requests is required to be made on behalf of an individual

defendant represented by the Office of the Corporation Counsel, the Office of the

New York State Attorney General, or counsel for or appointed by the Department

responsible for the Facility, it must be made on the basis of information and

documents within the possession, custody, or control of the Department or Facility

in accordance with the instructions contained in the requests. If no defendant is

represented by those counsel, responses based on that information need not be

made under this local rule, without prejudice to such other discovery procedures

as the plaintiff may initiate.

(d) The requests, denominated “Plaintiff’s Local Civil Rule 33.2 Interrogatories and

Requests for Production of Documents,” must be answered within 120 days of

service of the complaint on any named defendant except (i) as ordered otherwise

by the court, for good cause shown, which must be based on the facts and

procedural status of the particular case and not on a generalized claim of burden,

expense, or relevance, or (ii) if a dispositive motion is pending. The responses to

the requests must be served on the plaintiff and must include verbatim quotation of

the requests. Copies of the requests are available from the court, including the

court's website.

(e) Except upon permission of the court, for good cause shown, the requests constitute

the sole form of discovery available to plaintiff during the 120-day period

designated above.

For relevant historical context for this local rule, consult the Appendix of Committee Notes.

History

JULY 2011 COMMITTEE NOTE Local Civil Rule 33.2 has worked well, and the Committee recommends its continuation. The Committee recommends that the rule be revised to make it applicable on the same basis in the Eastern District as in the Southern District. In addition, the Committee recommends extension of the rule to other prison facilities in addition to State and New York City prison facilities (12/2014). Because this Local Civil Rule and Local Civil Rule 33.3 are frequently cited, the Committee does not recommend that they be renumbered. DECEMBER 2011 COMMITTEE NOTE The Committee recommends extension of the rule to other prison facilities in addition to State and New York City prison facilities. Also, the trigger for a Disciplinary Due Process Case is reduced from 100 days in SHU to 30 days to better reflect the case law in this area. 2014 COMMITTEE NOTE The Committee recommends deleting Local Civil Rule 33.2(f). The Rule is intended to be automatic and the standard discovery requests are available on the Courts’ websites and in most prison libraries. The second sentence of Local Rule 33.2(d) also is amended to require that the responses include verbatim quotation of the requests, to further ensure that the pro se plaintiff has the language of the requests.

Provenance

Source
www.nyed.uscourts.gov
Retrieved
2026-09-18
Edition
fed-district-2026-09-18
Content hash
09205b01a565175b6aeec6b45a067039d08bc73ed57e4763fdf22224a290a00d
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