Hicks v. Warden

Filing 3

MEMORANDUM. Signed by Judge Ellen L. Hollander on 6/14/2017. (c/m 6/15/2017)(ko, Deputy Clerk)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
CLARENCE HICKS, #33284-037,
Plaintiff
v.
WARDEN,

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*
* CIVIL NO. ELH-17-1563
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Defendant

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MEMORANDUM

Clarence Hicks, a federal prisoner confined at FCI-Allenwood, Pennsylvania, submitted
correspondence concerning his placement in the Segregated Housing Unit (“SHU”) following an
incident on May 30, 2017, involving Hicks and his cellmate. Because the correspondence
requested action from the Court, it has been construed as a civil action pursuant to Bivens v. Six
Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 395-97 (1971).
Hicks was convicted in this court in 1999 of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine
base.1 See United States v. Hicks, Criminal No. ELH-98-0259 (D. Md.). He appears close to
completion of his sentence, which was reduced by Judge J. Frederick Motz on June 17, 2015, to
a term of 262 months. Id., ECF 866. Hicks’s concerns regarding the incident on May 30, 2017,
may be actionable. But, his case is not properly before this court.
Review of the merits of Hicks’s allegations would invoke this court’s jurisdiction. Under
28 U.S.C. ' 1391(b), a civil action may be brought in the judicial district in which any defendant
resides, if all defendants reside in the State in which the district is located; in a judicial district in
which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, except as
1

The criminal case was assigned to the Honorable Benson Legg, who has since retired.
Therefore, it was reassigned to me in 2012.

otherwise provided by law; or, if there is no district in which an action may otherwise be brought
under this section, in any judicial district where any defendant is subject ot the court’s personal
jurisdiction.
In this case, Hicks is in the custody of the warden at the Federal Correctional InstitutionAllenwood, located in White Deer, Pennsylvania. That federal facility is located within the
jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Hicks
may bring a claim concerning the incident in that court, following the exhaustion of available
administrative remedies. But, the instant action shall be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
A separate Order follows.
Date: June 14, 2017

________/s/________________________
Ellen L. Hollander
United States District Judge

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