Giters v. LaClair et al

Filing 4

WRITTEN Opinion entered by the Honorable Rebecca R. Pallmeyer on 8/15/2012: Plaintiff's motion for leave to file in forma pauperis [# 3 ] is granted. The trust fund officer at Plaintiff's current place of incarceration is ordered to m ake deductions from Plaintiff's account and payments to the Clerk of Court as stated below. The Clerk is directed to send a copy of this order to the trust fund officer at the Cook County Jail. Plaintiff is given 30 days from the date of this order to show cause why his action should not be dismissed as untimely. Mailed notice(vcf, )

Order Form (01/2005)

United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Name of Assigned Judge
or Magistrate Judge

Rebecca R. Pallmeyer

CASE NUMBER

12 C 6395

CASE
TITLE

Sitting Judge if Other
than Assigned Judge

DATE

August 15, 2012

Jerome Giters (#2010-0108216) v. P.O. Ryan LaClair, et al.

DOCKET ENTRY TEXT:

Plaintiff’s motion for leave to file in forma pauperis [#3] is granted. The trust fund officer at Plaintiff’s current
place of incarceration is ordered to make deductions from Plaintiff’s account and payments to the Clerk of Court
as stated below. The Clerk is directed to send a copy of this order to the trust fund officer at the Cook County
Jail. Plaintiff is given 30 days from the date of this order to show cause why his action should not be dismissed
as untimely.
O [For further details see text below.]

Docketing to mail notices.

STATEMENT
Plaintiff, Jerome Giters, a pre-trial detainee in custody at the Cook County Jail, has brought this pro se
civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff claims that on October 6, 2009, Defendants, Chicago
Police Officers LaClair and Parks and Chicago Police Sergeants Wieczorek and Murphy, subjected him to
excessive force on arrest by shooting him, with a gun and with a taser. He further alleges that he was denied
adequate medical care for his injuries for a period of three hours.
The court finds that Plaintiff is unable to prepay the filing fee. The court therefore grants Plaintiff’s
motion to proceed in forma pauperis and assesses an initial partial filing fee of $20.67 pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(b)(1). The trust fund officer at Plaintiff’s current place of incarceration is ordered to collect, when funds
exist, the partial filing fee from Plaintiff’s trust fund account and pay it directly to the Clerk of Court. Thereafter,
the trust fund officer at the correctional facility where Plaintiff is confined is directed to collect monthly
payments from Plaintiff’s trust fund account in the amount of 20% of the preceding month’s income credited to
the account. Monthly payments collected from Plaintiff’s trust fund account shall be forwarded to the Clerk of
Court each time the account balance exceeds $10 until the full $350 filing fee is paid. Separate deductions and
payments shall be made with respect to each action or appeal filed by Plaintiff. All payments shall be sent to the
Clerk, United States District Court, 219 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60604, attn: Cashier’s Desk, 20th Floor,
and shall clearly identify Plaintiff’s name and the case number assigned to this action. The trust officer at the
Cook County Jail shall notify transferee authorities of any outstanding balance in the event the Plaintiff is
transferred from the jail to another correctional facility.
AWL

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STATEMENT
Plaintiff’s claims arise from his arrest on October 6, 2009. On that date, Plaintiff knew or should have
known of the alleged wrongdoing. See, e.g., Behavioral Inst. of Indiana v. Hobart City of Common Council, 406
F.3d 926, 929 (7th Cir. 2005). The Clerk of Court received Plaintiff’s complaint on August 13, 2012, more than
two years after the alleged violation of his rights.
The Court held in Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261 (1984), that 42 U.S.C. § 1988 requires federal courts to
borrow and apply a state’s personal injury statute of limitations to all Section 1983 claims. The applicable statute
in this instance is 735 ILCS 5/13-202 (2006), which provides that actions for damages shall be commenced within
two years after the cause of action accrued. Williams v. Lampe, 399 F.3d 867, 869-70 (7th Cir. 2005); Farrell v.
McDonough, 966 F.2d 279, 280-82 (7th Cir. 1992). The statute of limitations is not tolled merely because Plaintiff
is incarcerated. See Wilson v. Giesen, 956 F.2d 738, 741 (7th Cir. 1992). Because more than two years have
elapsed since Plaintiff’s claims of excessive force and deliberate indifference to a serious medical condition arose,
it appears that this action is time-barred. Before finally dismissing the case, however, the court will give Plaintiff
an opportunity to show otherwise.
Plaintiff is directed within 30 days to show cause why this case should not be dismissed as untimely.

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