Isma El v. Fayette County Detention Center et al

Filing 4

MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER: 1) Clerk shall modify the docket to identify Pla as "Kenneth Mobley, aka Amir Kenneth Mobley Isma El." 2) Mobley's 1 Notice of Removal is DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction, and this action is REMANDED to the Circuit Court of Fayette County, Kentucky. 3) Clerk shall FORWARD a certified copy of this Order to the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Fayette County, Kentucky, referencing Case No. 14-CR-120-2. 4) Mobley's 3 Motion to Challenge Jurisdiction is DENIED. Signed by Judge Danny C. Reeves on 5/22/2014. (KLB) cc: COR, Pro se Pla via US Mail, Fayette Circuit Court via US Mail (certified copy).

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY
CENTRAL DIVISION
(at Lexington)
KENNETH MOBLEY, a/k/a AMIR
KENNETH MOBLEY ISMA EL,
Plaintiff,
V.
FAYETTE COUNTY DETENTION
CENTER, et al.,
Defendants.

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Civil No. 5: 14-196-DCR

MEMORANDUM OPINION
AND ORDER

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Kenneth Mobley1 is presently confined at the Fayette County Detention Center in
Lexington, Kentucky. Proceeding without an attorney, Mobley has filed a “Notice of Removal,”
a “Notice of Unlawful Action,” and a “Motion to Challenge Jurisdiction.” [Record Nos. 1, 2, 3]
However, he neither paid the $400.00 in filing and administrative fees nor filed a motion to
proceed in forma pauperis.
In his Notice of Removal, Mobley asserts that jurisdiction over this action is vested with
the United States Supreme Court. Despite his contention, he also seeks to invoke this Court’s
removal jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1441, apparently seeking to remove “Case #14-CR-1202” from the Fayette Circuit Court. [Record No. 1, p. 1] Mobley separately asserts a “Cause of
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Mobley identifies himself as Amir Kenneth Mobley Isma El. [Record No. 1] However,
the Account Activity Ledger he has provided indicates that his legal name is Kenneth Mobley
[Record No. 1-2, p. 5], a name he has used in prior litigation before this Court. See Moche’ Isma
El v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, No. 5: 12-CV-207-WOB (E.D. Ky. 2012); Mobley v. Kentucky
District Court, No. 5: 13-443-KSF (E.D. Ky. 2013). A plaintiff must litigate a case filed in
federal court using his legal name. The Court therefore will direct the Clerk of the Court to
modify the docket to identify Kenneth Mobley as the plaintiff’s legal name, with Amir Kenneth
Mobley Isma El included as an additional designation.
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Action,” which appears to involve the December 3, 2013, search of his apartment and his
subsequent arrest by officers. He contends that these actions were improper because the officers
did not have appropriate warrants. Mobley also complains regarding events occurring during his
confinement, including a guard’s alleged termination of a phone call with his attorney and his
subsequent confinement in segregation. [Id. at 2] He further contends that the judges presiding
over his criminal proceedings lack jurisdiction over him because, as a foreign sovereign, he is
not subject to the laws of Kentucky or the United States. [Id. at 3-5; Record No. 1-1, pp. 1-2]
Mobley’s Notice of Unlawful Action asserts that state officials violated the Foreign
Sovereign Immunities Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1330, 1332, 1391(f), 1441(d), and 1602-1611, by
referring to him as “Kenneth Mobley” notwithstanding his asserted right to choose his own
name. Mobley contends that state case #14-CR-120-2 is therefore removable to this Court under
28 U.S.C. § 1441(d). [Record No. 2] Finally, in his Motion to Challenge Jurisdiction, Mobley
argues that he cannot be prosecuted under, or made subject to, the laws of the United States or
any of the several States because they do not apply to him. [Record No. 3, pp. 1-2]
Mobley’s attempt to remove his state court criminal action pursuant to § 1441(d) is
untenable. That section provides:
Any civil action brought in a State court against a foreign state as defined in
section 1603(a) of this title may be removed by the foreign state to the district
court of the United States for the district and division embracing the place where
such action is pending.
28 U.S.C. § 1441(d). Case No. 14-CR-120-2 is a criminal action pending in Fayette Circuit
Court. By its terms, § 1441(d) only permits the removal of state civil actions, not criminal
actions. Cf. Thompson v. Scutt, No. 1:11-cv-573, 2011 WL 2745934, at *4-5 (W.D. Mich. July
13, 2011). More fundamentally, that section only permits removal of civil actions against a
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“foreign state” as defined in 28 U.S.C. § 1603(a). Only a “foreign state” possesses standing to
seek removal under this provision, something Mobley is not. See United States v. Curtiss–
Wright Export Corp., 299 U.S. 304, 318–19 (1936).
Simply put, this action is the latest attempt by Mobley to interfere with past and ongoing
criminal and civil actions instituted against him by Kentucky officials. See Mobley v. Kentucky
District Court, No. 5: 13-443-KSF (E.D. Ky. 2013); Id., at Record No. 17, February 21, 2014,
Order of Dismissal.

However, Mobley has failed to establish any basis for this Court’s

jurisdiction. As a result, this action will be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction and remanded to
the Fayette Circuit Court for further proceedings. Accordingly, it is hereby
ORDERED as follows:
1.

The Clerk of the Court shall modify the docket to identify the plaintiff as

“Kenneth Mobley, a/k/a Amir Kenneth Mobley Isma El.”
2.

Mobley’s Notice of Removal [Record No. 1] is DISMISSED for lack of

jurisdiction, and this action is REMANDED to the Circuit Court of Fayette County, Kentucky.
3.

The Clerk of Court shall forward a certified copy of this Order to the Clerk of the

Circuit Court of Fayette County, Kentucky, referencing Case No. 14-CR-120-2.
4.

Mobley’s Motion to Challenge Jurisdiction [Record No. 3] is DENIED.

This 22nd day of May, 2014.

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