Maldonado v. Bunting

Filing 9

ORDER DENYING 7 Objection filed by Joe Maldonado. Signed by District Judge Robert H. Cleland. (LWag)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
_____________________________________________________________________
JOE MALDONADO, JR.,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 13-12857

LAWRENCE BUNTING and
MICHIGAN APPELLATE
ASSIGNED COUNSEL SYSTEM,
Defendants.
____________________________/
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S OBJECTION
Plaintiff Joe Maldonado, Jr., filed pro se a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil-rights complaint
and moved for an appointment of counsel. The court denied Plaintiff’s motion for
appointment of counsel and summarily dismissed his complaint under 28 U.S.C.
§§ 1915(e)(2)(B) and 1915A(b). Plaintiff now submits an “Objection,” which is
construed as a motion for reconsideration. Local Rule 7.1(h)(3) requires a movant for
reconsideration to identify a “palpable,” i.e., unmistakable, defect in a ruling. See
Hawkins v. Genesys Health Systems, 704 F. Supp. 2d 688, 709 (E.D. Mich. 2010).
Plaintiff argues that the court erred in finding Defendants immune from suit. He
cites Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223 (2009), which held that state law-enforcement
officers who conducted a warrantless search of a suspect’s home were entitled to
qualified immunity. Plaintiff concludes from Pearson that Defendants are not immune
from suit because they committed a constitutional violation. But one Defendant,
attorney Lawrence Bunting, is not subject to § 1983 because he never acted under color

of state law, and the other Defendant, the Michigan Appellate Assigned Counsel
System, enjoys sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment. Plaintiff is not
entitled to the relief he seeks. Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that the “Objection” [Dkt. # 7], construed as a motion for
reconsideration, is DENIED.

s/Robert H. Cleland
ROBERT H. CLELAND
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated: September 3, 2013

I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was mailed to counsel of record
on this date, September 3, 2013, by electronic and/or ordinary mail.
s/Lisa Wagner
Case Manager and Deputy Clerk
[phone]

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