Evaluating conflicting testimony and the credibility of witnesses in a disciplinary hearing

A court may not weigh the evidence or reject the choice made by the hearing officer in a disciplinary proceeding where there is conflicting evidence and room for choice exists. Where  there is room for choice, the court may not substitute its judgment for that of the hearing officer regarding the credibility of the witness.*In Crossman-Battisti v Traficanti, Appellate 235 A.D.2d 566, the Appellate Division rejected the employee's claim that all the witnesses had motives to lie and fabricate their testimony, finding that there was no basis "to disturb the resolution of issues of credibility implicit in [the employer's] determination [and] the duty of weighing the evidence and making the choice between conflicting inferences which can be drawn from the evidence is for the administrative agency, not the courts."Citing  Matter of Di Vito v State of New York, Dept. of Labor, 48 N.Y.2d 761, the Appellate Division explained that considering "the…

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