Holmes v. City of New York

Filing 8

ORDER TO AMEND: Plaintiff is granted leave to file an amended complaint that complies with the standards set forth above. Plaintiff must submit the amended complaint to this Courts Pro Se Intake Unit within 60 days of the date of this order, caption the document as an "Amended Complaint," and label the document with docket number 21-CV-10628 (LTS). An Amended Civil Rights Complaint form is attached to this order. No summons will issue at this time. If Plaintiff fails to comply within the time allowed, and he cannot show good cause to excuse such failure, the complaint will be dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. See 28 U.S.C. 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). The Court certifies under 28 U.S.C. 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith, and therefore in forma pauperis status is denied for the purpose of an appeal. Cf. Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438, 444-45 (1962) (holding that an appellant demonstrates good faith when he seeks review of a nonfrivolous issue). The Court directs the Clerk of Court to mail a copy of this order to Plaintiff and note service on the docket. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Laura Taylor Swain on 1/10/22) (rdz) Transmission to Docket Assistant Clerk for processing.

Case 1:21-cv-10628-LTS Document 8 Filed 01/10/22 Page 1 of 14

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
STANLEY HOLMES,
Plaintiff,
-against-

21-CV-10628 (LTS)
ORDER TO AMEND

CITY OF NEW YORK,
Defendant.

LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN, Chief United States District Judge:
Plaintiff, who is currently incarcerated at Great Meadow Correctional Facility, brings this
pro se action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He sues the City of New York, alleging that his New York
County conviction for criminal possession of a weapon was overturned on appeal, and that those
charges were eventually dismissed. By order dated January 4, 2022, the Court granted Plaintiff’s
request to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), that is, without prepayment of fees. 1 For the reasons
set forth below, the Court grants Plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint within 60 days of
the date of this order.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
The Prison Litigation Reform Act requires that federal courts screen complaints brought
by prisoners who seek relief against a governmental entity or an officer or employee of a
governmental entity. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a prisoner’s in forma
pauperis complaint, or any portion of the complaint, that is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a
claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is
immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(B), 1915A(b); see Abbas v. Dixon, 480 F.3d

1

Prisoners are not exempt from paying the full filing fee even when they have been
granted permission to proceed in forma pauperis. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1).

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636, 639 (2d Cir. 2007). The Court must also dismiss a complaint if the court lacks subject
matter jurisdiction. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3).
While the law mandates dismissal on any of these grounds, the court is obliged to
construe pro se pleadings liberally, Harris v. Mills, 572 F.3d 66, 72 (2d Cir. 2009), and interpret
them to raise the “strongest [claims] that they suggest,” Triestman v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 470
F.3d 471, 474 (2d Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted) (emphasis in
original). But the “special solicitude” in pro se cases, id. at 475 (citation omitted), has its limits –
to state a claim, pro se pleadings still must comply with Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure, which requires a complaint to make a short and plain statement showing that the
pleader is entitled to relief.
BACKGROUND
On June 30, 2016, Plaintiff Stanley Holmes was convicted in the Supreme Court of the
State of New York, New York County, of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree.
He was sentenced, as a persistent violent felony offender, to a term of 16 years’ to life
imprisonment. 2 See People v. Holmes, 170 A.D.3d 532 (2019).
On appeal, the Appellate Division, First Department, reversed the conviction. Id. The
Appellate Division held that the court erred at the suppression hearing in holding that defendant
Holmes lacked standing to move to suppress evidence of the pistol because it was recovered
from the ground. The Appellate Division First Department remanded the matter for a

2

According to public records of the New York State Department of Correction and
Community Supervision, Plaintiff is currently serving a sentence of 16 years’ to life
imprisonment for a 2016 conviction on charges of burglary and bail jumping, both in the second
degree.

2

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determination of an issue that had been raised at the suppression hearing but not addressed – that
is, whether the police had reasonable suspicion to stop and frisk Holmes.
The Appellate Division further held that the trial court had improperly precluded defense
counsel from cross-examining the eyewitness police officer about allegations previously raised in
a federal civil rights action against that officer. According to the Appellate Division, the trial
court had not provided any justification (such as the potential for jury confusion), for its exercise
of discretion to preclude cross-examination about previous bad acts by the police officer.
Because the error was not harmless, the Appellate Division ordered a new trial – the fourth trial
on these charges.
Plaintiff brings this suit for damages against the City of New York, invoking 42 U.S.C.
§ 1983. Plaintiff’s factual allegations, in their entirety, are as follows:
I was arrested for C.P.W. 2nd degree, resulted from a car stop. I had four criminal
trials dealing with this case. Four Appellate Judges agree[d] this case should have
been reversed. As a result, the criminal possession of a weapon [charge] has been
dismissed by the Supreme Court on September 14, 2021.
(Compl., ECF 2 at 4.)
A.

DISCUSSION

Claims Against City of New York
When a plaintiff sues a municipality under section 1983, it is not enough for the plaintiff

to allege that one of the municipality’s employees or agents engaged in some wrongdoing. The
plaintiff must show that the municipality itself caused the violation of the plaintiff’s rights. See
Connick v. Thompson, 563 U.S. 51, 60 (2011) (“A municipality or other local government may
be liable under this section [1983] if the governmental body itself ‘subjects’ a person to a
deprivation of rights or ‘causes’ a person ‘to be subjected’ to such deprivation.”) quoting Monell

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v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs. of City of New York, 436 U.S. 658, 692 (1978)); Cash v. Cnty. of Erie, 654
F.3d 324, 333 (2d Cir. 2011))).
In other words, to state a section 1983 claim against a municipality, such as the City of
New York, the plaintiff must allege facts showing a violation of his constitutional rights and, to
support the claim against the municipality, (1) the existence of a municipal policy, custom, or
practice, and (2) that the policy, custom, or practice caused the violation of the plaintiff’s
constitutional rights. Jones v. Town of East Haven, 691 F.3d 72, 80 (2d Cir. 2012); see Bd. of
Cnty. Comm’rs of Bryan Cnty. v. Brown, 520 U.S. 397, 403 (1997) (internal citations omitted).
Here, Plaintiff’s allegations that criminal charges against him were ultimately dismissed
are insufficient to show how a policy, custom, or practice of the City of New York caused a
violation of his rights. Because Plaintiff proceeds pro se, the Court grants Plaintiff leave to
amend his complaint to plead facts showing that a policy, custom, or practice of the City of New
York caused a violation of his federal civil rights.
B.

Potential Claims Arising From Arrest
The mere fact that a conviction is reversed, or that someone is arrested but ultimately not

convicted, does not in itself mean that a police officer’s arrest of the individual was unlawful. To
state a section 1983 claim for false arrest in New York State, a plaintiff must allege that: “(1) the
defendant intended to confine [the plaintiff], (2) the plaintiff was conscious of the confinement,
(3) the plaintiff did not consent to the confinement and (4) the confinement was not otherwise
privileged.” Liranzo v. United States, 690 F.3d 78, 95 (2d Cir. 2012). An arrest is privileged if it
is based on probable cause. Jenkins v. City of New York, 478 F.3d 76, 84 (2d Cir. 2007) (“The
existence of probable cause to arrest constitutes justification and is a complete defense to an
action for false arrest.” (quoting Weyant v. Okst, 101 F.3d 845, 852 (2d Cir. 1996))) (internal
quotation marks omitted).
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Officers have probable cause to arrest when they have “knowledge or reasonably
trustworthy information of facts and circumstances that are sufficient to warrant a person of
reasonable caution in the belief that the person to be arrested has committed . . . a crime.” Jaegly
v. Couch, 439 F.3d 149, 152 (2d Cir. 2006). Thus, if “the facts known by the arresting officer at
the time of the arrest objectively provided probable cause to arrest,” the arrest is privileged, and
the plaintiff cannot state a claim for false arrest. Devenpeck v. Alford, 543 U.S. 146, 152 (2004).
“Probable cause can exist even where it is based on mistaken information, so long as the
arresting officer acted reasonably and in good faith in relying on that information.” Bernard v.
United States, 25 F.3d 98, 102 (2d Cir. 1994); Rheingold v. Harrison Town Police Dep't, 568 F.
Supp. 2d 384, 389 (S.D.N.Y. 2008) (“The evidence required to establish probable cause to arrest
need not reach the level of evidence necessary to support a conviction.” (quotations and citation
omitted)).
Plaintiff’s complaint does not include any facts suggesting that his arrest was wrongful.
Moreover, even if Plaintiff had pleaded that he was wrongfully arrested, such a claim must be
brought against the individual(s) who were personally involved because, as set forth above, a
municipality such as the City of New York is only responsible under section 1983 for its own
acts in causing a violation of a plaintiff’s federal rights.
LEAVE TO AMEND
Plaintiff proceeds in this matter without the benefit of an attorney. District courts
generally should grant a self-represented plaintiff an opportunity to amend a complaint to cure its
defects, unless amendment would be futile. See Hill v. Curcione, 657 F.3d 116, 123-24 (2d Cir.
2011); Salahuddin v. Cuomo, 861 F.2d 40, 42 (2d Cir. 1988). Indeed, the Second Circuit has
cautioned that district courts “should not dismiss [a pro se complaint] without granting leave to
amend at least once when a liberal reading of the complaint gives any indication that a valid
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claim might be stated.” Cuoco v. Moritsugu, 222 F.3d 99, 112 (2d Cir. 2000) (quoting Gomez v.
USAA Fed. Sav. Bank, 171 F.3d 794, 795 (2d Cir. 1999)). Because Plaintiff may be able to allege
additional facts to state a valid claim, the Court grants Plaintiff 60 days’ leave to amend his
complaint to detail his claims.
Plaintiff is granted leave to amend his complaint to provide more facts about his claims.
First, Plaintiff must name as the defendant(s) in the caption and in the statement of claim those
individuals who were allegedly involved in the deprivation of his federal rights. If Plaintiff does
not know the name of a defendant, he may refer to that individual as “John Doe” or “Jane Doe”
in both the caption and the body of the amended complaint. 3 The naming of “John Doe” or “Jane
Doe” defendants, however, does not toll the three-year statute of limitations period governing
this action and Plaintiff shall be responsible for ascertaining the true identity of any “John Doe”
or “Jane Doe” defendants and amending his complaint to include the identity of any “John Doe”
or “Jane Doe” defendants before the statute of limitations period expires. Should Plaintiff seek to
add a new claim or party after the statute of limitations period has expired, he must meet the
requirements of Rule 15(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
In the “Statement of Claim” section of the amended complaint form, Plaintiff must
provide a short and plain statement of the relevant facts supporting each claim against each
defendant. If Plaintiff has an address for any named defendant, Plaintiff must provide it. Plaintiff
should include all of the information in the amended complaint that Plaintiff wants the Court to
consider in deciding whether the amended complaint states a claim for relief. That information
should include:

3

For example, a defendant may be identified as: “Correction Officer John Doe #1 on
duty August 31, 2020, at Sullivan Correctional Facility, during the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift.”
6

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a) the names and titles of all relevant people;
b) a description of all relevant events, including what each defendant did or failed to do,
the approximate date and time of each event, and the general location where each
event occurred;
c) a description of the injuries Plaintiff suffered; and
d) the relief Plaintiff seeks, such as money damages, injunctive relief, or declaratory
relief.
Essentially, Plaintiff’s amended complaint should tell the Court: who violated his
federally protected rights; how, when, and where such violations occurred; and why Plaintiff is
entitled to relief.
Because Plaintiff’s amended complaint will completely replace, not supplement, the
original complaint, any facts or claims that Plaintiff wants to include from the original complaint
must be repeated in the amended complaint.
CONCLUSION
Plaintiff is granted leave to file an amended complaint that complies with the standards
set forth above. Plaintiff must submit the amended complaint to this Court’s Pro Se Intake Unit
within 60 days of the date of this order, caption the document as an “Amended Complaint,” and
label the document with docket number 21-CV-10628 (LTS). An Amended Civil Rights
Complaint form is attached to this order. No summons will issue at this time. If Plaintiff fails to
comply within the time allowed, and he cannot show good cause to excuse such failure, the
complaint will be dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. See 28
U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii).
The Court certifies under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this order would
not be taken in good faith, and therefore in forma pauperis status is denied for the purpose of an

7

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appeal. Cf. Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438, 444-45 (1962) (holding that an appellant
demonstrates good faith when he seeks review of a nonfrivolous issue).
The Court directs the Clerk of Court to mail a copy of this order to Plaintiff and note
service on the docket.
SO ORDERED.
Dated:

January 10, 2022
New York, New York
/s/ Laura Taylor Swain
LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN
Chief United States District Judge

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Case 1:21-cv-10628-LTS Document 8 Filed 01/10/22 Page 9 of 14

U NITED S TATES D ISTRICT C OURT
S OUTHERN D ISTRICT OF N EW Y ORK

_____CV_______________
(Include case number if one has been
assigned)

Write the full name of each plaintiff.

AMENDED

-against-

COMPLAINT
(Prisoner)
Do you want a jury trial?
☐ Yes
☐ No

Write the full name of each defendant. If you cannot fit the
names of all of the defendants in the space provided, please
write “see attached” in the space above and attach an
additional sheet of paper with the full list of names. The
names listed above must be identical to those contained in
Section IV.

NOTICE
The public can access electronic court files. For privacy and security reasons, papers filed
with the court should therefore not contain: an individual’s full social security number or full
birth date; the full name of a person known to be a minor; or a complete financial account
number. A filing may include only: the last four digits of a social security number; the year of
an individual’s birth; a minor’s initials; and the last four digits of a financial account number.
See Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2.

Rev. 5/20/16

Case 1:21-cv-10628-LTS Document 8 Filed 01/10/22 Page 10 of 14

I.

LEGAL BASIS FOR CLAIM

State below the federal legal basis for your claim, if known. This form is designed primarily for
prisoners challenging the constitutionality of their conditions of confinement; those claims are
often brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (against state, county, or municipal defendants) or in a
“Bivens” action (against federal defendants).

☐ Violation of my federal constitutional rights
☐ Other:
II.

PLAINTIFF INFORMATION

Each plaintiff must provide the following information. Attach additional pages if necessary.

First Name

Middle Initial

Last Name

State any other names (or different forms of your name) you have ever used, including any name
you have used in previously filing a lawsuit.
Prisoner ID # (if you have previously been in another agency’s custody, please specify each agency
and the ID number (such as your DIN or NYSID) under which you were held)
Current Place of Detention
Institutional Address

County, City

III.

State

Zip Code

PRISONER STATUS

Indicate below whether you are a prisoner or other confined person:

☐
☐
☐
☐
☐

Pretrial detainee
Civilly committed detainee
Immigration detainee
Convicted and sentenced prisoner
Other:

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Case 1:21-cv-10628-LTS Document 8 Filed 01/10/22 Page 11 of 14

IV.

DEFENDANT INFORMATION

To the best of your ability, provide the following information for each defendant. If the correct
information is not provided, it could delay or prevent service of the complaint on the defendant.
Make sure that the defendants listed below are identical to those listed in the caption. Attach
additional pages as necessary.
Defendant 1:

First Name

Last Name

Shield #

Current Job Title (or other identifying information)
Current Work Address
County, City

State

Zip Code

Defendant 2:

First Name

Last Name

Shield #

Current Job Title (or other identifying information)
Current Work Address
County, City

State

Zip Code

Defendant 3:

First Name

Last Name

Shield #

Current Job Title (or other identifying information)
Current Work Address
County, City

State

Zip Code

Defendant 4:

First Name

Last Name

Shield #

Current Job Title (or other identifying information)
Current Work Address
County, City

State

Zip Code
Page 3

Case 1:21-cv-10628-LTS Document 8 Filed 01/10/22 Page 12 of 14

V.

STATEMENT OF CLAIM

Place(s) of occurrence:

Date(s) of occurrence:
FACTS:

State here briefly the FACTS that support your case. Describe what happened, how you were
harmed, and how each defendant was personally involved in the alleged wrongful actions. Attach
additional pages as necessary.

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Case 1:21-cv-10628-LTS Document 8 Filed 01/10/22 Page 13 of 14

INJURIES:

If you were injured as a result of these actions, describe your injuries and what medical treatment,
if any, you required and received.

VI.

RELIEF

State briefly what money damages or other relief you want the court to order.

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Case 1:21-cv-10628-LTS Document 8 Filed 01/10/22 Page 14 of 14

VII.

PLAINTIFF’S CERTIFICATION AND WARNINGS

By signing below, I certify to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief that: (1) the
complaint is not being presented for an improper purpose (such as to harass, cause unnecessary
delay, or needlessly increase the cost of litigation); (2) the claims are supported by existing law
or by a nonfrivolous argument to change existing law; (3) the factual contentions have
evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likely have evidentiary support after a
reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery; and (4) the complaint otherwise
complies with the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11.
I understand that if I file three or more cases while I am a prisoner that are dismissed as
frivolous, malicious, or for failure to state a claim, I may be denied in forma pauperis status in
future cases.
I also understand that prisoners must exhaust administrative procedures before filing an action
in federal court about prison conditions, 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a), and that my case may be
dismissed if I have not exhausted administrative remedies as required.
I agree to provide the Clerk's Office with any changes to my address. I understand that my
failure to keep a current address on file with the Clerk's Office may result in the dismissal of my
case.

Each Plaintiff must sign and date the complaint. Attach additional pages if necessary. If seeking to
proceed without prepayment of fees, each plaintiff must also submit an IFP application.

Dated
First Name

Plaintiff’s Signature
Middle Initial

Last Name

Prison Address
County, City

State

Zip Code

Date on which I am delivering this complaint to prison authorities for mailing:

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