Starks v. Williams et al

Filing 7

MEMORANDUM OPINION as more fully set out therein. Signed by Judge C Lynwood Smith, Jr on 4/12/2016. (AHI)

FILED
2016 Apr-12 PM 03:16
U.S. DISTRICT COURT
N.D. OF ALABAMA

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
NORTHEASTERN DIVISION
ERNEST L. STARKS,
Plaintiff,
vs.
DAVID WILLIAMS, JR., et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No. 5:14-cv-02320-CLS-SGC

MEMORANDUM OPINION
The magistrate judge filed a Report and Recommendation on March 21, 2016,
recommending that plaintiff’s federal constitutional claims be dismissed, pursuant to
28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), for failing to state a claim upon which relief may be
granted. (Doc. 5 at 15). The magistrate judge further recommended that plaintiff’s
state law claims be dismissed, without prejudice, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3).
(Id.). Plaintiff filed objections to the Report and Recommendation on April 6, 2016.
(Doc. 6).
Plaintiff objects to the recommended dismissal of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims
on the basis of the expiration of the statute of limitations, because “errors that
seriously undermine the validity of criminal proceedings have been held to constitute
a miscarriage of justice,” and “[a] right wherever recognized to claim innocence can
be file[d] at any time.” (Id. at 1-3). Plaintiff’s objections are without merit because

the principles he relies upon – i.e., miscarriage of justice and actual innocence – are
not applicable to a civil rights lawsuit brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Instead,
those principles sound in habeas corpus, an entirely different proceeding brought by
a petitioner seeking relief from a criminal conviction and sentence on constitutional
grounds.
Having carefully reviewed and considered de novo all the materials in the court
file, including the Report and Recommendation and the objections thereto, the court
is of the opinion that the magistrate judge’s report is due to be and is hereby
ADOPTED and the recommendation is ACCEPTED. Accordingly, the plaintiff’s
federal constitutional claims are DISMISSED pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1)
for failing to state a claim on which relief may be granted, and the plaintiff’s state law
claims are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3).
A Final Judgment will be entered.