In what circumstances will a judge order a sealed criminal record to be used in a civil proceeding?

In People v. Canales, 174 Misc 2d 387, 664 NYS2d 228 (Sup Ct Bx Co 1997), a case similar to the instant proceeding, the defendant was the target of a police investigation and was arrested along with her son in her apartment and was charged with felony narcotics possession. Subsequently, the criminal charges against the defendant were dismissed and the record sealed. The court held that the compelling need for sealed criminal records in relation to eviction proceeding was not shown to justify the extraordinary remedy of unsealing the criminal record for use in a civil proceeding. It was not shown that information in the records could not be obtained through other means including testimony of officers who executed the search warrant. The court noted that the special prosecutor could have brought the issue of the need for the

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records to the judge's attention before the criminal case was sealed.