Sykes v. Swanson

Filing 4

ORDER DISMISSING CASE Signed by District Judge Paul D. Borman. (DTof)

Case 2:20-cv-12421-PDB-RSW ECF No. 4 filed 10/26/20

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION

DORIAN TREVOR SYKES,
Plaintiff,
CASE NO. 2:20-CV-12421
HONORABLE PAUL D. BORMAN

v.
C. SWANSON,
Defendant.
______________________________/

OPINION AND ORDER OF SUMMARY DISMISSAL
I.
This is a pro se civil rights case brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. At
the time he instituted this action, Dorian Trevor Sykes (“Plaintiff”), was a federal
detainee being held at the Genesee County Jail in Flint, Michigan. In his
complaint, he alleges that he is being denied his constitutional rights because the
Genesee County Jail does not have a law library for inmates. He asserts that the
lack of a law library is hampering his ability to represent himself in his pending
criminal and civil cases. He names Genesee County Sheriff C. Swanson as the
defendant in this action and seeks injunctive relief, such as access to legal materials
or transfer to a facility with a law library. The Court has granted Plaintiff leave to

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proceed without prepayment of the filing fee for this action. For the reasons set
forth herein, the Court dismisses as moot the civil rights complaint. The Court also
concludes that an appeal cannot be taken in good faith.
II.
Article III, § 2 of the United States Constitution requires the existence of a
case or controversy through all stages of federal judicial proceedings. United
States v. Juvenile Male, 564 U.S. 932, 936 (2011). This means that, throughout the
litigation, the plaintiff or petitioner “must have suffered, or be threatened with, an
actual injury traceable to the defendant and likely to be redressed by a favorable
judicial decision.” Lewis v. Continental Bank Corp., 494 U.S. 472, 477 (1990); see
also Preiser v. Newkirk, 422 U.S. 395, 401 (1975). If an event occurs subsequent
to the filing of a lawsuit which deprives a court of the ability to provide meaningful
relief, the case becomes moot and is subject to dismissal. Ailor v. City of
Maynardville, 368 F.3d 587, 596 (6th Cir. 2004). Similarly, a claim becomes moot
when the controversy between the parties is no longer alive because the party
seeking relief has obtained the relief requested. Deakins v. Monaghan, 484 U.S.
193, 199 (1988); Thomas Sysco Food Svs. v. Martin, 983 F.2d 60, 62 (6th Cir.
1993); see also Henderson v. Martin, 73 F. App’x 115, 117 (6th Cir. 2003)
(prisoner’s claims for declaratory and injunctive relief become moot when he or
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she is transferred from the prison giving rise to the complaint); Kensu v. Haigh, 87
F.3d 172, 175 (6th Cir. 1996) (same).
A court may raise the jurisdictional issue of mootness sua sponte. See North
Carolina v. Rice, 404 U.S. 244, 246 (1971) (“Mootness is a jurisdictional question
because the Court is not empowered to decide moot questions or abstract
propositions....”); Berger v. Cuyahoga Co. Bar Ass’n, 983 F.2d 718, 721 (6th Cir.
1993) (“Questions of jurisdiction are fundamental matters which [a court] may
review sua sponte.”).
Since the filing of this action, the United States Marshals Service has
informed the Court that Plaintiff has been transferred to a detention facility at the
Saginaw County Jail – a jail that maintains a law library for inmates. Given this
transfer, Plaintiff has obtained the injunctive relief that he seeks in this action.
There is no additional relief for the Court to grant to him. The present case has
thus been rendered moot and Plaintiff’s civil rights complaint must be dismissed on
such a basis.
III.
For the reasons stated, the Court concludes that this civil rights case is now
moot. Accordingly, the Court DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE the civil rights
complaint. Lastly, the Court concludes that an appeal from this decision cannot be
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taken in good faith. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3). This case is closed.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

s/Paul D. Borman
PAUL D. BORMAN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated: October 26, 2020

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