Walters v. Santa Clara Department of Corrections et al

Filing 6

ORDER of Dismissal with Leave to Amend. Signed by Judge Edward M. Chen on 2/27/2013. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate of Service). (emcsec, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/27/2013)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ARTHUR WALTERS,

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Plaintiff,

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No. C-12-4574 EMC (pr)

v.

ORDER OF DISMISSAL WITH LEAVE
TO AMEND

SANTA CLARA DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS; et al.,

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Defendant.
________________________________/

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I.

INTRODUCTION

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Plaintiff, formerly an inmate at the Santa Clara County Department of Corrections, filed this

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pro se civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. His complaint is now before the Court for review

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under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.

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II.

BACKGROUND

In his complaint, Plaintiff alleges that, on or about April 26, 2012, he was removed from

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substance abuse rehabilitation classes and was deprived of the opportunity to earn his G.E.D.

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diploma by Milpitas Adult Education/Corrections instructor Julianne J. and the Santa Clara

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Department of Corrections staff "for no reason but racial prejudice." Docket # 1, p. 3. Plaintiff

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allegedly then was moved to "punitive administrative segregation lockdown" where he was "locked

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down" at least 22 hours per day for 89 days, until July 23, 2012. Id. at 3, 7. He allegedly did not

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receive any written rule violation report or any hearing. Plaintiff further alleges that he received an

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answer to his administrative appeal that confirmed that he "was removed and placed in punitive

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administrative segregation lockdown simply because of teacher's personal opinion of me." Id. at 7.

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The supervisor's answer to the administrative appeal attached to his complaint stated: "Due to your

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negative and argumentative behavior the instructors requested you be removed from the program."

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Id. at 17; see also id. (facility commander's response stated: "Your current behavior does not meet

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the criteria for programs").

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Plaintiff claims that the foregoing violated his First Amendment right to redress of

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grievances, Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, and Fourteenth

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Amendment rights to due process and equal protection.

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III.

DISCUSSION

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A federal court must engage in a preliminary screening of any case in which a prisoner seeks

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redress from a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. See 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1915A(a). In its review the court must identify any cognizable claims, and dismiss any claims

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which are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seek

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monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. See id. at § 1915A(b). Pro

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se pleadings must be liberally construed. See Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep't, 901 F.2d 696, 699

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(9th Cir. 1990).

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To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege two elements: (1) that a right

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secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States was violated and (2) that the violation was

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committed by a person acting under the color of state law. See West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48

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(1988).

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First, the complaint does not state a claim for an equal protection violation. A plaintiff

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alleging a § 1983 claim for a denial of equal protection based on race or other suspect classification

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must plead intentional unlawful discrimination or allege facts that are at least susceptible of an

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inference of discriminatory intent. See Monteiro v. Tempe Union High School Dist., 158 F.3d 1022,

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1026 (9th Cir. 1998). The plaintiff must allege that the defendant state actor acted at least in part

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because of plaintiff's membership in a protected class. Serrano v. Francis, 345 F.3d 1071, 1081-82

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(9th Cir. 2003). It is not necessary that there be detailed factual allegations, but the "complaint must

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contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its

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face.' . . .A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court

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to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.'" Ashcroft v.

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Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)).

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Plaintiff's allegations fail to state a claim for an equal protection violation because he has not

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alleged any facts plausibly suggesting that the adverse actions were on account of his race.

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See Bingham v. City of Manhattan Beach, 341 F.3d 939, 948 (9th Cir. 2001) (an inference of racial

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discrimination is not raised and an equal protection claim is not stated when a plaintiff's contentions

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amount to no more than that he is one race, the state actor is another race, and they disagree about

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the reasonableness of the officer's conduct). Plaintiff alleges that he was ejected from programs and

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put into administrative segregation solely due to his race, but alleges no facts to plausibly suggest

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that this was so. Further, the document he points to as confirmation that the actions against him

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were wrongful undermines his claim, as that document states that it was his behavior that caused

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him to be ejected from the programs. Ejecting an inmate from a program due to his bad attitude

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would not violate any constitutionally protected right to equal protection. Leave to amend will be

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granted so that Plaintiff may attempt to allege facts that plausibly suggest that he was ejected from

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the program and put in administrative segregation due to his race.

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Second, the complaint does not state a claim upon which relief may be granted for the denial

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of Plaintiff's inmate appeals or the slow response to those administrative appeals. There is no

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constitutional right to a prison or jail administrative appeal system in California. See Ramirez v.

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Galaza, 334 F.3d 850, 860 (9th Cir. 2003); Mann v. Adams, 855 F.2d 639, 640 (9th Cir. 1988);

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Antonelli v. Sheahan, 81 F.3d 1422, 1430 (7th Cir. 1996); Cal. Code Regs. tit. 15, §§ 1073, 3084.1.

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Plaintiff had no federal constitutional right to a properly functioning appeal system. An incorrect

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decision on an administrative appeal or failure to handle it in a particular way therefore did not

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amount to a violation of his right to due process. Nor did the denial of his inmate appeals violate his

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First Amendment right "to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." U.S. Const. amend.

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I, because that right does not include a right to receive a favorable decision on the grievances one

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does present.

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Third, his placement in punitive administrative segregation for almost three months without
notice of charges or a hearing might be actionable as a due process violation, but Plaintiff has not

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linked any defendant to this claim. If he wishes to pursue a claim about his placement in punitive

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administrative segregation, Plaintiff must in his amended complaint allege facts showing the basis

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for liability for each defendant. He should not refer to them as a group (e.g., "the defendants");

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rather, he should identify each involved defendant by name and link each of them to his claim by

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explaining what each involved defendant did or failed to do that caused a violation of his rights. See

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Leer v. Murphy, 844 F.2d 628, 634 (9th Cir. 1988).

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Fourth, Plaintiff has failed to link several defendants to any of his claims. He has sued the

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Santa Clara Department of Corrections, which may be an arm of the municipality of Santa Clara

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County. He has sued captain Wong of the Santa Clara Department of Corrections, who was the

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facility commander. And he has sued "Milpitas Adult Education/Corrections," an entity of an

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unknown nature. None of these defendants have liability based solely on the fact that they employed

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an alleged wrongdoer. There is no respondeat superior liability under § 1983, i.e. no liability under

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the theory that one is liable simply because he employs a person who has violated a plaintiff's rights.

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See Monell v. Dep't of Social Servs.,436 U.S. 658, 691 (1978); Taylor v. List, 880 F.2d 1040, 1045

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(9th Cir. 1989).

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Local governments, such as Santa Clara County, are “persons” subject to liability under 42

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U.S.C. § 1983 where official policy or custom causes a constitutional tort, see Monell,436 U.S. at

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690. To impose municipal liability under § 1983 for a violation of constitutional rights, a plaintiff

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must show: (1) that the plaintiff possessed a constitutional right of which he or she was deprived;

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(2) that the municipality had a policy; (3) that this policy amounts to deliberate indifference to the

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plaintiff's constitutional rights; and (4) that the policy is the moving force behind the constitutional

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violation. See Plumeau v. School Dist. #40 County of Yamhill, 130 F.3d 432, 438 (9th Cir. 1997).

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Plaintiff is granted leave to file an amended complaint in which he may attempt to allege a Monell

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claim against Santa Clara County Department of Corrections. If he wants to pursue a claim against

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Milpitas Adult Education/Corrections, he needs to allege what that entity did or failed to do that

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caused a violation of his constitutional rights.

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As noted above, captain Wong has no liability based merely on the fact that someone
working at his jail allegedly committed a constitutional tort. A supervisor may be liable under §

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1983 upon a showing of (1) personal involvement in the constitutional deprivation or (2) a sufficient

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causal connection between the supervisor's wrongful conduct and the constitutional violation.

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Henry A. v. Willden, 678 F.3d 991, 1003-04 (9th Cir. 2012). The complaint does not make any such

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allegations against captain Wong. In his amended complaint, Plaintiff may attempt to allege a claim

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against captain Wong.

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Fifth, the complaint does not state whether Plaintiff was a convict at the relevant time. His

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status matters because it affects the constitutional provision under which some of his claims would

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arise. A claim about a punitive condition arises under the Eighth Amendment's Cruel and Unusual

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Punishments Clause for a convict, and under the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause for a

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pretrial detainee. See Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 535 n.16 (1979). The analyses under these

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two clauses are often similar, but are not necessarily identical. See generally Demery v. Arpaio, 378

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F.3d 1020, 1028-29 (9th Cir. 2004). In his amended complaint, Plaintiff must state whether he was

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awaiting trial or had been convicted at the time the acts and omissions giving rise to his complaint

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occurred.

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After he filed his complaint, Plaintiff filed a "motion requesting court to serve summons and

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complaint." The motion is DENIED. (Docket # 6.) The motion is premature and unnecessary.

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Service of process is not yet appropriate because Plaintiff's complaint fails to state a claim and he

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must file an amended complaint. If and when Plaintiff submits a pleading that the court determines

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warrants service of process, the court will order service of process. There is no need for Plaintiff to

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request service of process.

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IV.

CONCLUSION

The complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Leave to amend will

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be granted so that Plaintiff may attempt to state a claim. The amended complaint must be filed no

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later than March 29, 2013, and must include the caption and civil case number used in this order

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and the words AMENDED COMPLAINT on the first page. Plaintiff is cautioned that his amended

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complaint must be a complete statement of his claims. See Lacey v. Maricopa County, 693 F.3d

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896, 928 (9th Cir. 2012) (en banc) ("For claims dismissed with prejudice and without leave to

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amend, we will not require that they be repled in a subsequent amended complaint to preserve them

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for appeal. But for any claims voluntarily dismissed, we will consider those claims to be waived if

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not repled.") Failure to file the amended complaint by the deadline will result in the dismissal of the

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action.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: February 27, 2013

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_________________________
EDWARD M. CHEN
United States District Judge

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