Richardson v. BCDC
Filing
3
MEMORANDUM. Signed by Judge James K. Bredar on 8/5/2015. (c/m 8/6/15)(krs, Deputy Clerk)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
ZANDER LAMONT RICHARDSON, JR.
#412-735
Plaintiff
v.
:
:
: Civil Action No. JKB-15-2236
BALTIMORE CITY DETENTION CENTER :
Defendant
MEMORANDUM
On February 5, 2014, Zander Lamont Richardson, Jr., currently incarcerated within the
Maryland Department of Corrections and housed at North Branch Correctional Institution in
Cumberland, filed this civil complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. ' 1983, seeking money damages.
He complains that while awaiting trial at the Baltimore City Detention Center, he (1) suffered
serious head injury following a 2011 assault and (2) was stabbed while on “T-tier” in 2012.1
Richardson fails to provide the approximate dates on which these incidents occurred or the
names of the individuals responsible. He has filed a motion for leave to proceed in forma
pauperis (ECF No. 2) which shall be granted.
Examination of Maryland’s electronic docket reveals that on January 7, 2009, Richardson
was arrested for first-degree murder, burglary, and firearms offenses.2 The Circuit Court docket
indicates that Richardson was held without bail and on at least two occasions was adjudicated
1
Richardson also notes (3) that he may be entitled to participate in a settlement for individuals who were treated
with the antipsychotic medication Risperdal. Risperdal is an anti-psychotic drug prescribed to treat the symptoms
of schizophrenia. It may also be used to treat episodes of mania, mixed episodes of mania and depression, or bipolar
disorder. See http://www.nlm.nih.Qov/medl i nep lusldru gin fo/medsia694015.htmI.
The court cannot advise Richardson regarding the law firms currently representing individuals who were
prescribed this medication. Richardson may be able to ask his prison librarian for help in identifying and
contacting these law firms.
2
See http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/inquiry/inquiryDetail.jis?caseId=0B01999333&loc=3&detailLoc=DSCR
incompetent to stand trial.3 Ultimately, he was declared competent and stood trial. This court
finds that despite his inartfully pled complaint, there is no requirement for appointment of a
guardian to pursue the claims presented. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(c)(2).
Richardson was a pretrial detainee while detained at the Baltimore City Detention Center
("BCDC"). The constitutional protections afforded a pretrial detainee as provided by the
Fourteenth Amendment are co-extensive with those provided by the Eighth Amendment. See
Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 535 (1979). "Due process rights of a pretrial detainee are at
least as great as the eighth amendment protections available to the convicted prisoner." Hill
v. Nicodemus, 979 F.2d 987, 991 (4th Cir. 1992) (citing Martin v. Gentile, 849 F.2d 863, 870
(4th Cir. 1988)).
Richardson does not indicate whether his 2011 beating was at the hands of officers or his
fellow detainees. Richardson’s 2012 claim against Officers Tywoo and Martin regarding a
January 2012 stabbing was previously examined in this court. In Richardson v. Tywoo, et al.,
Civil Action No. JKB-14-595 (D. Md.), Richardson indicated that on an unspecified date Tywoo
and Martin, together with other unnamed BCDC employees, were somehow involved in an
incident wherein he was assaulted and stabbed by “5 plus individuals for 20 minutes at least.”
Id., ECF No. 1, p. 3 and ECF No. 4, p. 3. He also claimed he was attacked again in a separate
incident and stabbed in the leg, but Tywoo and Martin failed to protect him from such attack and
left him in his cell without treatment, saying he was “crazy” and caused his injury by biting
himself. Id., ECF No. 1; ECF No. 4, p. 3. Despite a lack of clarity, the case proceeded. Id., ECF
No. 6. The Division of Pretrial Detention and Services (“Division”) searched its personnel
records and found no record of a correctional officer with the surname of “Tywoo,” or any other
3
See http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/inquiry/inquiryDetail.jis?caseId=109043020&loc=69&detailLoc=DSK8
2
person with a similarly spelled name, who worked at BCDC between June 2, 2010, and February
1, 2012, the period during which Richardson claimed he was housed therein.4 Counsel for the
Division found one officer who might have worked at BCDC but, given the two-year span in
which the underlying alleged facts could have occurred and plaintiff’s failure to identify “Officer
Martin” by a first initial, was unable to determine if that one individual might have been
involved in the incident. Id., ECF No. 11, pp. 1-2. The case was dismissed without prejudice on
May 28, 2014.5 Id., ECF No. 15.
Richardson’s latest lawsuit does not survive initial review, as it is time-barred. While
there is no express period of limitations in the Civil Rights Act, federal courts generally apply
the most appropriate state statute of limitations to a claim filed under 42 U.S.C. ' 1983. “Section
1983 provides a federal cause of action, but in several respects relevant here federal law looks to
the law of the State in which the cause of action arose. This is so for the length of the statute of
limitations: It is that which the State provides for personal-injury torts.” Wallace v. Kato, 549
U.S. 384, 387 (2007) (citing Owens v. Okure, 488 U.S. 235, 249-50, (1989)); Wilson v. Garcia,
471 U.S. 261, 279-80 (1985); Cox v. Stanton, 529 F.2d 47, 49-50 (4th Cir. 1975). Maryland's
general three-year statute of limitations for civil actions is most applicable to the case at bar. See
Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. ' 5-101.
Although the state statute of limitations applies, the time of accrual of the action is a
federal question. Cox, 529 F.2d at 50. The running of the statute of limitations begins when an
individual knows or has reason to know of his injury. Id. Here, the time of accrual would be at
4
5
See id., ECF No. 1 at 3.
Richardson did not appeal.
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the time of injury, in 2011 and in January of 2012. Richardson did not file the instant lawsuit
until after the limitations period expired; it is time-barred and, thus, cannot proceed. A separate
dismissal order will issue.
Date this 5th day of August, 2015.
____________/s/_________________
James K. Bredar
United States District Judge
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