Spencer v. Bureau of Prisons et al
Filing
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ORDER dismissing this action by Judge Lewis T. Babcock on 12/17/14. (dkals, )
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Case No. 14-cv-03386-GPG
ROLLIN LEE SPENCER,
Petitioner,
v.
FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS,
FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL COMPLEX,
WARDEN,
AGENTS,
EMPLOYEES,
S.I.S., and
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, et al.,
Respondents.
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
Petitioner, Rollin Lee Spencer, is a prisoner in the custody of the Federal Bureau
of Prisons at the Federal Correctional Institution in Florence, Colorado. Petitioner has
submitted for filing a Criminal Complaint, ECF No. 1. In the Letter he submitted along
with the Complaint, Petitioner requests that the Court arrange for a grand jury to hear
this case and/or allow him to bring this case to a grand jury. See ECF No. 1-2. 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) (“Private citizens generally have no standing to institute federal
criminal proceedings.”). Therefore, the Court finds that Petitioner lacks standing to
invoke the authority of United States attorneys under 28 U.S.C. § 547 to prosecute for
offenses against the United States. Accordingly, it is
ORDERED that the action is dismissed because Petitioner lacks standing to file
and prosecute a criminal action.
DATED at Denver, Colorado, this 17th day of
December , 2014.
BY THE COURT:
s/Lewis T. Babcock
LEWIS T. BABCOCK, Senior Judge
United States District Court
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