Bath v. Bicha

Filing 4

ORDER Of Dismissal. The action is dismissed as legally frivolous pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i). The Application to Proceed in District Court WithoutPrepaying Fees or Costs (short form), ECF No. 2 , is deficient, but will be dismissed as moot. Leave to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal is denied. By Judge Lewis T. Babcock on 6/4/2014. (klyon, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO

Case No. 14-cv-01529-BNB
BRIAN EDMOND BATH,
Plaintiff,
v.
REGGIE BICHA, Personally and Severally, and
JANE AND JOHN DOES 1-100,
Defendants.

ORDER OF DISMISSAL

Plaintiff, Brian Edmond Bath, has submitted to the Court a Criminal Complaint
pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1342 and an Application to Proceed in District Court Without
Prepaying Fees or Costs. For the reasons stated below, the Court will dismiss the
action.
Courts universally endorse the principle that private citizens cannot prosecute
criminal actions. See, e.g., Cok v. Cosentino, 876 F.2d 1, 2 (1st Cir.1989) (per curiam);
Connecticut Action Now, Inc. v. Roberts Plating Co., 457 F.2d 81, 86-87 (2d Cir.1972)
(“It is a truism, and has been for many decades, that in our federal system crimes are
always prosecuted by the Federal Government, not as has sometimes been done in
Anglo-American jurisdictions by private complaints.”); Winslow v. Romer, 759 F. Supp.
670, 673 (D. Colo.1991). A plaintiff also cannot recover civil damages for an alleged
violation of a criminal statute. Shaw v. Neece, 727 F.2d 947, 949 (10th Cir. 1984); see
also Winslow, 759 F. Supp. at 673 (D. Colo. 1991) (“Private citizens generally have no

standing to institute federal criminal proceedings.”). The action, therefore, will be
dismissed because any assertion of jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 1342 is legally
frivolous.
The Court certifies pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this
order is not taken in good faith, and, therefore, in forma pauperis status is denied for the
purpose of appeal. See Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438 (1962). If Plaintiff
files a notice of appeal he must also pay the full $505.00 appellate filing fee or file a
motion to proceed in forma pauperis in the Tenth Circuit within thirty days in accordance
with Fed. R. App. P. 24. Accordingly, it is
ORDERED that the action is dismissed as legally frivolous pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(e)(2)(B)(i). It is
FURTHER ORDERED that the Application to Proceed in District Court Without
Prepaying Fees or Costs (short form), ECF No. 2, is deficient, but will be dismissed as
moot because the action is dismissed. It is
FURTHER ORDERED that leave to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal is
denied.
DATED at Denver, Colorado, this

4th

day of

June

, 2014.

BY THE COURT:

s/Lewis T. Babcock
LEWIS T. BABCOCK, Senior Judge
United States District Judge

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