US · rules
E.D.N.Y. Local Civil Rule 33.2
Standard Discovery in Prisoner Pro Se Actions
(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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