Holmes v. Tattnall County Superior Court et al
Filing
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REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS of the Magistrate Judge that the Court DISMISS Plaintiff's 1 Complaint, DIRECT the Clerk of Court to CLOSE this case, and DENY Plaintiff in forma pauperis on appeal. Any party seeking to object to this Report and Rec ommendation is ordered to file specific written objections within fourteen (14) days of the date on which this Report and Recommendation is entered. (Objections to R&R due by 2/17/2017). ORDER directing service of the REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS of the Magistrate Judge. Signed by Magistrate Judge R. Stan Baker on 2/2/2017. (csr)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
STATESBORO DIVISION
SCOTT HOLMES,
Plaintiff,
CIVIL ACTION NO.: 6:17-cv-18
v.
TATTNALL COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT;
TATTNALL COUNTY SHERIFF
DEPARTMENT; MARK SMITH;
TATTNALL COUNTY STATE COURT; and
TATTNALL COUNTY JUVENILE COURT,
Defendants.
ORDER and MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
Plaintiff, who is currently housed at Tattnall County Jail in Reidsville, Georgia, filed this
Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Doc. 1.) Plaintiff also filed a Motion to Proceed in
Forma Pauperis. (Doc. 2.) For the reasons which follow, the Court DENIES Plaintiff’s Motion.
For these same reasons, I RECOMMEND this Court DISMISS Plaintiff’s Complaint, DIRECT
the Clerk of Court to CLOSE this case, and DENY Plaintiff in forma pauperis on appeal.
BACKGROUND
In his Complaint, Plaintiff alleges a deputy with the Tattnall County Sheriff’s Department
initiated a traffic stop against him and his co-defendant for swerving over the fog line on
September 12, 2016, on Highway 178 in Reidsville, Georgia.
(Doc. 1-1, p. 1.)
Plaintiff
maintains the deputy informed him and his co-defendant they were under arrest after his codefendant consented to a search of her car, yet the deputy did not inform Plaintiff of the charges
or indicate what was found in the car. 1 Plaintiff contends Defendant Smith, an investigator with
Georgia State Prison, interviewed him the next day and informed Plaintiff he actually was
arrested on the grounds of Rogers State Prison. Plaintiff contests this characterization of his
arrest, as he maintains he was on a public road at the time of the traffic stop and was arrested by
a county authority, not by anyone with the Georgia Department of Corrections. (Id. at pp. 1–2.)
Plaintiff avers the Tattnall County courts illegally issued warrants against him, even though
Defendant Smith testified at Plaintiff’s preliminary hearing that he was not at the scene of
Plaintiff’s arrest. (Id. at p. 2.)
STANDARD OF REVIEW
Plaintiff seeks to bring this action in forma pauperis under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Under
28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1), the Court may authorize the filing of a civil lawsuit without the
prepayment of fees if the plaintiff submits an affidavit that includes a statement of all of his
assets and shows an inability to pay the filing fee and also includes a statement of the nature of
the action which shows that he is entitled to redress. Even if the plaintiff proves indigence, the
Court must dismiss the action if it is frivolous or malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which
relief may be granted. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(B)(i)–(ii). Additionally, pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915A, the Court must review a complaint in which a prisoner seeks redress from a
governmental entity. Upon such screening, the Court must dismiss a complaint, or any portion
thereof, that is frivolous or malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted
or which seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915A(b).
1
Plaintiff filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, in Case Number
6:16-cv-148 to contest the ongoing criminal proceedings he is facing in Tattnall County, Georgia, based
on charges of trafficking cocaine and other drugs. Pet., Holmes v. State of Georgia, 6:16-cv-148 (S.D.
Ga. Nov. 8, 2016), ECF No. 1.
2
When reviewing a Complaint on an application to proceed in forma pauperis, the Court is
guided by the instructions for pleading contained in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See
Fed. R. Civ. P. 8 (“A pleading that states a claim for relief must contain [among other things] . . .
a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.”); Fed. R.
Civ. P. 10 (requiring that claims be set forth in numbered paragraphs, each limited to a single set
of circumstances). Further, a claim is frivolous under Section 1915(e)(2)(B)(i) “if it is ‘without
arguable merit either in law or fact.’” Napier v. Preslicka, 314 F.3d 528, 531 (11th Cir. 2002)
(quoting Bilal v. Driver, 251 F.3d 1346, 1349 (11th Cir. 2001)).
Whether a complaint fails to state a claim under Section 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) is governed by
the same standard applicable to motions to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 12(b)(6). Thompson v. Rundle, 393 F. App’x 675, 678 (11th Cir. 2010). Under that
standard, this Court must determine whether the complaint contains “sufficient factual matter,
accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556
U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). A
plaintiff must assert “more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the
elements of a cause of action will not” suffice. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. Section 1915 also
“accords judges not only the authority to dismiss a claim based on an indisputably meritless legal
theory, but also the unusual power to pierce the veil of the complaint’s factual allegations and
dismiss those claims whose factual contentions are clearly baseless.” Bilal, 251 F.3d at 1349
(quoting Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 327 (1989)).
In its analysis, the Court will abide by the long-standing principle that the pleadings of
unrepresented parties are held to a less stringent standard than those drafted by attorneys and,
therefore, must be liberally construed. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972); Boxer X v.
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Harris, 437 F.3d 1107, 1110 (11th Cir. 2006) (“Pro se pleadings are held to a less stringent
standard than pleadings drafted by attorneys.”) (emphasis omitted) (quoting Hughes v. Lott, 350
F.3d 1157, 1160 (11th Cir. 2003)). However, Plaintiff’s unrepresented status will not excuse
mistakes regarding procedural rules. McNeil v. United States, 508 U.S. 106, 113 (1993) (“We
have never suggested that procedural rules in ordinary civil litigation should be interpreted so as
to excuse mistakes by those who proceed without counsel.”). The requisite review of Plaintiff’s
Complaint raises several doctrines of law, which the Court discusses in turn.
DISCUSSION
I.
Dismissal Pursuant to Heck v. Humphrey and the Rooker-Feldman Doctrine
The allegations contained in Plaintiff’s Complaint center around his ongoing criminal
proceedings in Tattnall County, Georgia.
There is no indication that Plaintiff has been
convicted, much less whether that conviction has been reversed, expunged, invalidated, called
into question by a federal court’s issuance of a writ of habeas corpus, or otherwise overturned.
(Doc. 1.) Consequently, this Court is precluded from reviewing his claims by the decision in
Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994).
In Heck, a state prisoner filed a Section 1983 damages action against the prosecutors and
investigator in his criminal case for their actions which resulted in his conviction. The United
States Supreme Court analogized the plaintiff’s claim to a common-law cause of action for
malicious prosecution, which requires as an element of the claim that the prior criminal
proceeding was terminated in favor of the accused. 512 U.S. at 484. The Supreme Court
reasoned:
We think the hoary principle that civil tort actions are not appropriate vehicles for
challenging the validity of outstanding criminal judgments applies to § 1983
damages actions that necessarily require the plaintiff to prove the unlawfulness of
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his conviction or confinement, just as it had always applied to actions for
malicious prosecution (footnote omitted).
We hold that, in order to recover damages for allegedly unconstitutional
conviction or imprisonment, or for other harm caused by actions whose
unlawfulness would render a conviction or sentence invalid, (footnote omitted), a
§ 1983 plaintiff must prove that the conviction or sentence has been reversed on
direct appeal, expunged by executive order, declared invalid by a state tribunal
authorized to make such determination, or called into question by a federal court’s
issuance of a writ of habeas corpus, 28 U.S.C. § 2254. A claim for damages
bearing that relationship to a conviction or sentence that has not been so
invalidated is not cognizable under § 1983. Thus, when a state prisoner seeks
damages in a § 1983 suit, the district court must consider whether a judgment in
favor of the plaintiff would necessarily imply the invalidity of his conviction or
sentence; if it would, the complaint must be dismissed unless the plaintiff can
demonstrate that the conviction or sentence has already been invalidated.
Id. at 486–87 (emphasis added).
Under Heck, a plaintiff who is attempting “to recover damages for allegedly
unconstitutional conviction or imprisonment, or for other harm caused by actions whose
unlawfulness would render a conviction or sentence invalid,” must make a showing that his
conviction, sentence, or other criminal judgment was reversed, expunged, declared invalid by an
appropriate state tribunal, or called into question in a federal court’s issuance of a writ of habeas
corpus. Id. If a plaintiff fails to make this showing, then he cannot bring an action under
Section 1983. Id. at 489. Furthermore, to the extent a plaintiff contends that a favorable ruling
on his claims would not invalidate his conviction, sentence, confinement, or other criminal
judgment, the burden is on the plaintiff to prove this contention in order for his claims to
proceed. Id. at 487. Although Heck involved a claim brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for money
damages, Heck’s holding has been extended to claims seeking declaratory or injunctive relief as
well as money damages. 2 See Wilkinson v. Dotson, 544 U.S. 74, 81–82 (2005); Abella v.
2
In addition to his immediate release, Plaintiff states he is seeking monetary damages “for false arrest,
lost [sic] of wages, lost [sic] of residence, lost [sic] of all personal belongings” since he has been housed
at the Tattnall County Jail “in the amount of $900,000[.]” (Doc. 1, p. 5.)
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Rubino, 63 F.3d 1063, 1066 (11th Cir. 1995); see also Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 500
(1973) (“[W]e hold today that when a state prisoner is challenging the very fact or duration of his
physical imprisonment, and the relief he seeks is a determination that he is entitled to immediate
release or a speedier release from that imprisonment, his sole federal remedy is a writ of habeas
corpus.”).
“Under this standard, it is not unusual for a § 1983 claim to be dismissed for failure to
satisfy Heck’s favorable termination requirement.” Desravines v. Fla. Dep’t of Fin. Servs.,
No. 6:11-CV-235-ORL-22, 2011 WL 2292180, at *3 (M.D. Fla. May 23, 2011), report and
recommendation adopted by No. 6:11-CV-235-ORL-22, 2011 WL 2222170 (M.D. Fla. June 8,
2011) (citing Gray v. Kinsey, No. 3:09–cv–324/LC/MD, 2009 WL 2634205, at *9 (N.D. Fla.
Aug. 25, 2009) (finding plaintiff’s claims barred by Heck’s favorable termination requirement
where plaintiff sought invalidation of his traffic conviction but failed to appeal the conviction in
state court)); Domotor v. Wennet, 630 F. Supp. 2d 1368, 1379 (S.D. Fla. 2009) (“allowing the
plaintiff to circumvent applicable state procedures and collaterally attack her convictions in
federal court is the precise situation that Heck seeks to preclude” because the plaintiff entered
into a plea agreement with knowledge of substantially all of the allegations that now form the
basis of a Section 1983 action for damages); St. Germain v. Isenhower, 98 F. Supp. 2d 1366,
1372 (S.D. Fla. 2000) (holding plaintiff’s convictions for the lesser-included offenses of false
imprisonment and misdemeanor battery did not constitute a favorable termination and thus
plaintiff’s § 1983 action was precluded by Heck ); see also Cooper v. Georgia, No. CV413-091,
2013 WL 2253214, at *2 (S.D. Ga. May 22, 2013), report and recommendation adopted by No.
CV413-091, 2013 WL 2660046 (S.D. Ga. June 11, 2013); Brown v. Renfroe, No. CV210-003,
2011 WL 902197, at *2 (S.D. Ga. Jan. 25, 2011), report and recommendation adopted by No.
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CV210-003, 2011 WL 892359 (S.D. Ga. Mar. 9, 2011), aff’d sub nom., Brown v. Coleman, 439
F. App’x 794 (11th Cir. 2011).
In this case, Plaintiff has not shown that his conviction or his sentence has been favorably
terminated. To the contrary, Plaintiff does not even allege that he has been convicted of the
crimes for which he has been charged. Plaintiff seeks his release from confinement, and he
maintains the facts of this case do not lend themselves to having to answer charges levied by the
Georgia Department of Corrections. Accordingly, the Heck decision unquestionably precludes
Plaintiff’s claims.
Even if Plaintiff is not challenging a conviction, he is at least challenging his post-arrest
confinement. However, Heck is not only limited to claims challenging the validity of criminal
convictions. It also applies to detentions absent convictions. See Cohen v. Clemens, 321 F.
App’x 739, 741 (10th Cir. 2009) (In the immigration context, “Heck bar[red the plaintiff’s]
claims for damages because success on those claims would necessarily imply the invalidity of
[his] detention.”); Edwards v. Balisok, 520 U .S. 641 (1997) (applying Heck to a Section 1983
claim challenging procedures used to deprive a prison inmate of good time credits); Huftile v.
Miccio-Fonseca, 410 F.3d 1136, 1137 (9th Cir. 2005) (applying Heck to a Section 1983 claim
challenging civil commitment under California’s Sexually Violent Predators Act); Hamilton v.
Lyons, 74 F.3d 99, 102–03 (5th Cir. 1996) (applying Heck to a Section 1983 claim challenging
the coercive nature of a pretrial detainee’s confinement prior to giving a statement regarding
pending charges).
Additional grounds support dismissal of Plaintiff’s putative Section 1983 claims.
Pursuant to the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, the Court is without jurisdiction over Plaintiff’s
claims, which essentially seek review of ongoing state-court criminal proceedings against him.
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“The Rooker-Feldman doctrine derives from Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Company, 263 U.S. 413
(1923), and District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462 (1983), and
provides that, as a general matter, federal district courts lack jurisdiction to review a final state
court decision.” McCorvey v. Weaver, 620 F. App’x 881, 882 (11th Cir. 2015). Nor under the
Rooker-Feldman doctrine may a federal court “decide federal issues that are raised in state
proceedings and ‘inextricably intertwined’ with the state court’s judgment.” See Datz v. Kilgore,
51 F.3d 252, 253 (11th Cir. 1995) (quoting Staley v. Ledbetter, 837 F.2d 1016, 1018 (11th Cir.
1988)). “Rooker-Feldman applies because, among the federal courts, Congress authorized only
the Supreme Court to reverse or modify a state court decision.” Helton v. Ramsay, 566 F. App’x
876, 877 (11th Cir. 2014) (citing Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Saudi Basic Indus. Corp., 544 U.S. 280,
284 (2005)). Because Plaintiff, through this Section 1983 action, essentially asks this Court to
invalidate the criminal charges against him in Tattnall County, Georgia, this Court lacks
jurisdiction over his claims.
For these reasons, the Court should DISMISS Plaintiff’s claims in their entirety.
II.
Dismissal Under the Younger Abstention Doctrine
Additionally, insofar as Plaintiff is asking this Court to intervene in the state case’s
ongoing proceedings, the Younger abstention doctrine bars Plaintiff’s Complaint. Under the
Younger abstention doctrine, a federal court must abstain from exercising jurisdiction over a case
where there is an ongoing state action. See Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971). While
Younger involved a federal suit for injunctive relief of the ongoing state proceedings, the
Eleventh Circuit has also indicated that the Younger abstention extends to cases involving
Section 1983 claims for monetary damages. See Doby v. Strength, 758 F.2d 1405, 1405–06
(11th Cir. 1985) (requiring Younger abstention where plaintiff raised Fourth Amendment Section
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1983 damages claims related to ongoing state criminal proceedings); see also Kowalski v.
Tesmer, 543 U.S. 125, 133 (2004) (intervention in ongoing state court proceedings is not
appropriate as a Section 1983 cause of action when there is ample opportunity to raise
constitutional challenges in those state court proceedings).
Here, because the status of Plaintiff’s indictment is unknown and potentially ongoing,
any ruling by this Court as to the constitutionality of Defendants’ actions could substantially
interfere with the results reached in the state court proceeding. See 31 Foster Children v. Bush,
329 F.3d 1255, 1276 (11th Cir. 2003) (noting the importance of “whether the federal proceeding
will interfere with an ongoing state court proceeding” in determining whether Younger
abstention is appropriate). Moreover, Plaintiff cannot demonstrate the lack of adequate remedy
at law because he is free to allege the same violations by Defendants in his state criminal
proceedings. See Boyd v. Georgia, No. CV 112-042, 2012 WL 2862157, at *2 (S.D. Ga. May
14, 2012), report and recommendation adopted, No. CV 112-042, 2012 WL 2862123 (S.D. Ga.
July 11, 2012), aff’d, 512 F. App’x 915 (11th Cir. 2013) (concluding that plaintiff had an
adequate remedy at law with respect to constitutional claims that he could bring in his pending
state criminal case). In addition, Plaintiff’s allegations provide no indication of irreparable
injury, and the hardships associated with having to defend against a criminal prosecution do not
establish it as a matter of law. Younger, 401 U.S. at 47 (“Certain types of injury, in particular,
the cost, anxiety, and inconvenience of having to defend against a single criminal prosecution,
could not by themselves be considered ‘irreparable’ in the special legal sense of that term.”).
For these additional reasons, the Court should DISMISS Plaintiff’s claims in their
entirety.
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III.
Leave to Appeal in Forma Pauperis
The Court should also deny Plaintiff leave to appeal in forma pauperis. 3
Though
Plaintiff has, of course, not yet filed a notice of appeal, it would be appropriate to address these
issues in the Court’s order of dismissal. Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(3) (trial court may certify that
appeal is not take in good faith “before or after the notice of appeal is filed”).
An appeal cannot be taken in forma pauperis if the trial court certifies that the appeal is
not taken in good faith. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3); Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(3). Good faith in this
context must be judged by an objective standard. Busch v. Cty. of Volusia, 189 F.R.D. 687, 691
(M.D. Fla. 1999). A party does not proceed in good faith when he seeks to advance a frivolous
claim or argument. See Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438, 445 (1962). A claim or
argument is frivolous when it appears the factual allegations are clearly baseless or the legal
theories are indisputably meritless. Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 327 (1989); Carroll v.
Gross, 984 F.2d 392, 393 (11th Cir. 1993). Or, stated another way, an in forma pauperis action
is frivolous and, thus, not brought in good faith, if it is “without arguable merit either in law or
fact.” Napier v. Preslicka, 314 F.3d 528, 531 (11th Cir. 2002); see also Brown v. United States,
Nos. 407CV085, 403CR001, 2009 WL 307872, at *1–2 (S.D. Ga. Feb. 9, 2009).
Based on the above analysis of Plaintiff’s action, there are no non-frivolous issues to
raise on appeal, and an appeal would not be taken in good faith. Thus, the Court should DENY
him in forma pauperis status on appeal.
3
A certificate of appealability is not required in this putative Section 1983 action.
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CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, the Court DENIES Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed in
Forma Pauperis. (Doc. 2.) Additionally, I RECOMMEND that the Court DISMISS this action
for failure to state a claim and DIRECT the Clerk of Court to CLOSE this case. I further
RECOMMEND that the Court DENY Plaintiff leave to appeal in forma pauperis.
The Court ORDERS any party seeking to object to this Report and Recommendation to
file specific written objections within fourteen (14) days of the date on which this Report and
Recommendation is entered. Any objections asserting that the Magistrate Judge failed to address
any contention raised in the Complaint must also be included. Failure to do so will bar any later
challenge or review of the factual findings or legal conclusions of the Magistrate Judge. See 28
U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C); Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140 (1985). A copy of the objections must be
served upon all other parties to the action. The filing of objections is not a proper vehicle
through which to make new allegations or present additional evidence.
Upon receipt of Objections meeting the specificity requirement set out above, a United
States District Judge will make a de novo determination of those portions of the report, proposed
findings, or recommendation to which objection is made and may accept, reject, or modify in
whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the Magistrate Judge. Objections not
meeting the specificity requirement set out above will not be considered by a District Judge. A
party may not appeal a Magistrate Judge’s report and recommendation directly to the United
States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Appeals may be made only from a final
judgment entered by or at the direction of a District Judge.
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The Court DIRECTS the Clerk of Court to serve a copy of this Report and
Recommendation upon the Plaintiff.
SO ORDERED and REPORTED and RECOMMENDED, this 2nd day of February,
2017.
R. STAN BAKER
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
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