LaFlamme v. Evans

Filing 13

ORDER OF DISMISSAL, ***Civil Case Terminated.Signed by Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton on 5/25/12. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate/Proof of Service)(nah, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/25/2012)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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OAKLAND DIVISION

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DON LAFLAMME,
Plaintiff,

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EVANS, Warden,
Defendant.

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

ORDER OF DISMISSAL

v.

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No. C 12-0874 PJH (PR)

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This is a pro se civil rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 filed by a state prisoner

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housed at Salinas Valley State Prison. It was transferred here from the Eastern District of

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California. Plaintiff has been granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis in a separate

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order.

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DISCUSSION
A.

Standard of Review
Federal courts must engage in a preliminary screening of cases in which prisoners

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seek redress from a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity.

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28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). In its review the court must identify any cognizable claims, and

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dismiss any claims which are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim upon which relief may

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be granted, or seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. Id.

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at 1915A(b)(1),(2). Pro se pleadings must be liberally construed. Balistreri v. Pacifica

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Police Dep't, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1990).

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires only "a short and plain statement of

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the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." "Specific facts are not necessary;

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the statement need only '"give the defendant fair notice of what the . . . . claim is and the

omitted). Although in order to state a claim a complaint “does not need detailed factual

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allegations, . . . a plaintiff's obligation to provide the 'grounds’ of his 'entitle[ment] to relief'

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requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a

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cause of action will not do. . . . Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief

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above the speculative level." Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)

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(citations omitted). A complaint must proffer "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is

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plausible on its face." Id. at 570. The United States Supreme Court has recently explained

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the “plausible on its face” standard of Twombly: “While legal conclusions can provide the

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framework of a complaint, they must be supported by factual allegations. When there are

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For the Northern District of California

grounds upon which it rests."'" Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93 (2007) (citations

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United States District Court

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well-pleaded factual allegations, a court should assume their veracity and then determine

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whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662,

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679 (2009).

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To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege two essential

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elements: (1) that a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States was

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violated, and (2) that the alleged deprivation was committed by a person acting under the

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color of state law. West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988).

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B.

Legal Claims

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Plaintiff contends that his sentence has been “illegally increased” as a result of loss

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of good time for disciplinary violations. Along with damages and court costs, he asks that

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he be released from prison and that his sentence been deemed “expired including parole.”

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Habeas is the "exclusive remedy" for the prisoner who seeks "‘immediate or

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speedier release'" from confinement. Skinner v. Switzer, 131 S. Ct. 1289, 1293 (2011)

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(quoting Wilkinson v. Dotson, 544 U.S. 74, 82 (2005)); see Calderon v. Ashmus, 523 U.S.

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740, 747 (1998); Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 500 (1973). To the extent plaintiff

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seeks release, his claims must be brought in a habeas case.

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As to plaintiff’s request for damages, the United States Supreme Court has held that
to recover damages for an allegedly unconstitutional conviction or imprisonment, or for
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other harm caused by actions whose unlawfulness would render a conviction or sentence

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invalid, a section 1983 plaintiff must prove that the conviction or sentence has been

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reversed on direct appeal, expunged by executive order, declared invalid by a state tribunal

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authorized to make such determination, or called into question by a federal court's issuance

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of a writ of habeas corpus. Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 486 (1994). A claim for

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damages arising from a conviction or sentence that has not been so invalidated is not

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cognizable under section 1983. Id.; see also Edwards v. Balisok, 520 U.S. 641, 645 (1997)

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(claim arising from loss of good credits in disciplinary proceeding subject to Heck if success

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in 1983 case would result in shortened sentence).
When a state prisoner seeks damages in a section 1983 suit, the district court must

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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consider whether a judgment in favor of the plaintiff would necessarily imply the invalidity of

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his continued confinement or result in the shortening of it; if it would, the complaint must be

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dismissed unless the plaintiff can demonstrate that the conviction or sentence has already

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been invalidated. Heck, 512 U.S. at 487.

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It is clear from the complaint that the conviction has not been invalidated, so the

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claims for damages also must be dismissed. See Trimble v. City of Santa Rosa, 49 F.3d

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583, 585 (9th Cir. 1995) (claims barred by Heck may be dismissed sua sponte without

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prejudice).

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CONCLUSION
Plaintiff’s claims cannot be raised in a section 1983 case. This action therefore is
DISMISSED without prejudice. The clerk shall close the file.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: May 25, 2012.
PHYLLIS J. HAMILTON
United States District Judge

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G:\PRO-SE\PJH\CR.12\LaFlamme0874.dsm.wpd

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