FINNEMEN v. ZANE

Filing 3

OPINION. Signed by Judge Renee Marie Bumb on 7/28/16. (jbk, )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
CAMDEN VICINAGE

NASIR FINNEMEN,
Plaintiff,

Civil No. 16-4214 (RMB/JS)
OPINION

v.
JUDGE ROBERT T. ZANE,
Defendant.

On July 12, 2016, Plaintiff Nasir Finnemen (the

“Plaintiff”) initiated this civil action against Judge Robert T.
Zane of the Camden County Municipal Court.

Plaintiff also seeks

leave to proceed without prepayment of fees and has submitted
the necessary application establishing that he lacks the
financial ability to pay the filing fee.

Based on Plaintiff’s

affidavit of indigence, this Court will grant his application to
proceed in forma pauperis.

However, for the reasons stated

below, Plaintiff’s claims against Judge Zane shall be dismissed
with prejudice.

Plaintiff alleges that Judge Zane denied his

motion to appoint another public defender to represent him.
Plaintiff appears to seek this Court’s reversal of Judge Zane’s
order.

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2), the Court must
preliminarily screen in forma pauperis filings, and must dismiss
any filing that is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a
claim upon which relief can be granted, or seeks monetary relief
from a defendant who is immune from such relief. Id.
After reviewing the Complaint with the requisite liberal
construction, the Court determines that it fails to state any
claim upon which relief can be granted against Judge Zane.

The

claim, as construed by this Court, is precluded by the RookerFeldman doctrine, barring district court review of state court
judgments. See Tammera v. Grossman, No. 10-569, 2010 WL 1372406,
at *4 (D.N.J. 2010); see also Lance v. Dennis, 546 U.S. 459, 463
(2006) (“[U]nder what has come to be known as the Rooker-Feldman
doctrine, lower federal courts are precluded from exercising
appellate jurisdiction over final state-court judgments.”).
Accordingly, this claim shall be dismissed.
s/Renee Marie Bumb
RENEE MARIE BUMB
United States District Judge
Dated July 28, 2016