An appellate court in Albany has ruled that the names of correction officers can not be withheld from members of the public seeking documents under the freedom of information law on certain incidents reported in state prisons, including when force is used against an inmate.

It's the first time the issue has been considered by the Appellate Division, Third Department, which said in the decision that a section of state civil rights law often used by law enforcement to shield certain records from disclosure did not apply in this case.

“Upon our review of the nature and facility uses of unusual incident reports, use of force reports and misbehavior reports, as well as their lack of potential to be used abusively against correction officers, we conclude that such documents do not qualify as personnel records within the meaning of Civil Rights Law Section 50-a,” Justice Christine Clark wrote.