Perry v. Todd et al

Filing 14

MEMORANDUM OPINION Signed by Judge Karon O Bowdre on 6/25/13. (SAC )

FILED
2013 Jun-25 AM 10:22
U.S. DISTRICT COURT
N.D. OF ALABAMA

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
SOUTHERN DIVISION
LAWRENCE I. PERRY

Plaintiff,

THE HONORABLE JUDGE
TRACIE TODD, ET. AL.

Defendant

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CIVIL ACTION NO.
2:13-cv-762-UNAS-KOB

MEMORANDUM OPINION
I. INTRODUCTION
This case comes before the court on the plaintiff’s “Urgent Request for Restraining Order”
(doc. 7). In his motion, the plaintiff seeks injunctive relief against the Jefferson County Circuit Court
to prohibit the enforcement of a Restitution Order and to enjoin any attempt to arrest the plaintiff for
Contempt of Court. For the following reasons, the court DENIES the motion.
II. BACKGROUND
This case arises from the plaintiff’s conviction of Assault in the First Degree on July 11,
2006. (Complaint ¶ 1). Circuit Court Judge William Cole sentenced the plaintiff to twelve years in
prison, and after an unsuccessful appeal, the plaintiff served his sentence with the Alabama
Department of corrections, until he was released on March 5, 2010. (Complaint ¶¶ 2, 4, 5).
On June 2, 2011, the Jefferson County Circuit Court entered an order requiring the plaintiff
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to pay $9,502.83 in restitution. (Complaint ¶ 11). On July 18, 2011, the court scheduled a Probation
Revocation hearing and on August 3, 2011, the District Attorney asked that the court hold the
plaintiff in contempt of court for failure to pay court ordered restitution. (Complaint ¶¶ 3, 5). After
a hearing on October 26, 2011, Judge Cole jailed the plaintiff for contempt of court because the
plaintiff refused to sign a Warranty Deed conveying real property (valued at $11,300.00) to the State
in satisfaction of the court ordered restitution. (Complaint ¶¶ 6, 11). The plaintiff signed the deed
on October 27, 2011, and was released from jail on October 28, 2011. (Complaint ¶¶ 7, 8).
On November 5, 2012, and January 25, 2013, the plaintiff received notices from the District
Attorney Restitution Recovery Division explaining that the plaintiff still owed $4,466.32, and that
failure to pay that amount in full within 5 days would result in further “court proceedings.”
(Complaint ¶¶ 9, 11). The plaintiff attached a similar letter to the present motion, dated April 25,
2013. In his complaint, the plaintiff alleged that his prosecution for contempt of court and subsequent
jailing on October 26, 2011, constituted a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The plaintiff complained
that the conveyance of his property satisfied the judgment against him, and that any subsequent
attempt to collect restitution (or prosecution for contempt of court) against the plaintiff constituted
double jeopardy in violation of his Fifth Amendment rights. Further, the plaintiff alleged that the
Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office fraudulently drafted and procured the plaintiff’s
signature on the warranty deed. The plaintiff requested $1,000 per day in punitive damages from the
date of his release on March 5, 2010, until the eventual date that this case is resolved. The plaintiff
also requested one half of the total punitive damages as compensatory damages. Id.
On May 14, 2013, the plaintiff filed the present motion, requesting injunctive relief against
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The complaint restarts paragraph numbering at 1 after the initial paragraph 5.
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the “Jefferson County Judicial Department” prohibiting the enforcement of the restitution order and
the arrest of the plaintiff for contempt of court.
III. DISCUSSION
The plaintiff asks the court to enjoin the prosecution against him by the Jefferson County
Circuit Court for contempt of court. This court finds that while it has authority under 28 U.S.C. §
2283 to grant such relief to the plaintiff, this court must exercise restraint in granting injunctive relief
against state criminal proceedings, and, therefore, must deny the plaintiff’s motion.
A federal court may not, by injunctive relief, stay a state court proceeding unless expressly
authorized by an Act of Congress; necessary in the aid of its jurisdiction; or to protect or effectuate
its judgments. 28 U.S.C. § 2283. Civil rights claims brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 generally
qualify under the Acts of Congress exception to the anti-injunction statute. Mitchum v. Foster, 407
U.S. 225, 242 (1972). However, in observation of the principles of equity, comity, and federalism,
a federal court must exercise restraint when asked to enjoin a state court proceeding. Id. at 243;
Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 46 (1971).
Though Younger explicitly did not address § 2283, the Mitchum court adopted certain
principles announced in Younger, finding that when claims under § 1983 arise from criminal
proceedings, the plaintiff must show evidence of “great and imminent” threats to a federally
protected right to qualify for injunctive relief. Mitchum, 407 U.S. at 243; Younger, 401 U.S. at 46.
Cost, anxiety, and inconvenience are insufficient alone to merit federal intervention in a state
proceeding. Younger, 401 U.S. at 46; cf. Stefanelli v. Minard, 342 U.S. 117, 120 (1951) (“The
maxim that equity will not enjoin a criminal prosecution summarizes centuries of weighty experience
in Anglo-American law.”).
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Even when prosecution is unlawful, the threat of such prosecution “is not alone ground for
relief in equity which exerts its extraordinary powers only to prevent irreparable injury to the plaintiff
who seeks its aid.” Younger, 401 U.S. at 46. A plaintiff seeking an injunction against state criminal
proceedings must show evidence of bad faith or harassment; that the statute in question is “flagrantly
and patently violative of express constitutional prohibitions in every clause, sentence, and
paragraph”; or “other unusual circumstance that would call for equitable relief.” Id. at 53-54. “No
citizen . . . is immune from prosecution, in good faith, for his alleged criminal acts.” Id. at 46.
In the present case, the plaintiff seeks injunctive relief against the prosecution of a case
against him in Jefferson County Circuit Court for contempt of court. Because this case involves a
§ 1983 claim arising from a criminal proceeding, the plaintiff must show that prosecution of the
criminal charge amounts to bad faith and harassment; that the statute in question is wholly
unconstitutional; or any other unusual circumstance that represents a “great and imminent threat”
to the plaintiff’s federally protected rights. The plaintiff has offered no such evidence.
The plaintiff has presented no evidence that his prosecution for contempt of court is in any
way unlawful. The record reflects no evidence of bad faith or harassment by the prosecution. Further,
the Alabama Restitution Statute is not “flagrantly and patently” unconstitutional, and the plaintiff
has pled no other unusual circumstance that threatens his federally protected rights. The plaintiff
merely seeks to avoid arrest during the pendency of his case. Such injury is “incidental to every
criminal proceeding brought lawfully and in good faith.” Younger, 401 U.S. at 47. In deference to
the comity between the state and federal courts, this court must not interfere in a state criminal
proceeding where the plaintiff has provided no evidence of abuse of his federally protected rights.
Therefore, this court must refrain from issuing injunctive relief against the State of Alabama’s
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prosecution of the plaintiff.
IV. CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, the court finds that the plaintiff’s “Urgent Request for
Restraining Order” is due to be DENIED. As the plaintiff merely seeks shelter from the threat of
prosecution in his state criminal case, and not the protection of any federal right, this court must not
interfere with the plaintiff’s state criminal proceedings. The court simultaneously will enter a
separate Order in conformity with this Memorandum Opinion.
DONE and ORDERED this 25th day of June, 2013.

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KARON OWEN BOWDRE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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