Ganaway v. State of Ohio et al
Filing
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Memorandum of Opinion and Order. This action is dismissed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. The Court certifies, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), that an appeal from this decision could not be taken in good faith. Judge Christopher A. Boyko on 9/27/2012. (H,CM)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
CLARENCE GANAWAY,
Plaintiff,
v.
STATE OF OHIO, et al.,
Defendants.
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CASE NO. 1:12 CV 1121
JUDGE CHRISTOPHER A. BOYKO
MEMORANDUM OF OPINION
AND ORDER
On May 7, 2012, Plaintiff pro se Clarence Ganaway, an inmate at the Mansfield Correctional
Institution, filed this civil rights action against the State of Ohio and the Cuyahoga County Court
of Common Pleas. The Complaint asserts in general terms that post release control in Ohio violates
the Fourteenth Amendment. For the reasons stated below, this action is dismissed pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 1915A.
A district court is expressly required to dismiss any civil action filed by a prisoner seeking
relief from a governmental officer or entity, as soon as possible after docketing, if the court
concludes that the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or if the plaintiff
seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. §1915A; Siller
v. Dean, No. 99-5323, 2000 WL 145167 , at *2 (6th Cir. Feb. 1, 2000).
A cause of action fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted when it lacks
“plausibility in the complaint.” Bell At. Corp. V. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 564 (2007). A pleading
must contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.”
Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 677-78 (2009). The factual allegations in the pleading must be
sufficient to raise the right to relief above the speculative level on the assumption that all the
allegations in the complaint are true. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. The plaintiff is not required to
include detailed factual allegations, but must provide more than “an unadorned,
the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 678 (2009). A pleading that
offers legal conclusions or a simple recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not meet this
pleading standard. Id.
Principles requiring generous construction of pro se pleadings are not without limits.
Beaudett v. City of Hampton, 775 F.2d 1274, 1277 (4th Cir. 1985). A complaint must contain either
direct or inferential allegations respecting all the material elements of some viable legal theory to
satisfy federal notice pleading requirements. See Schied v. Fanny Farmer Candy Shops, Inc., 859
F.2d 434, 437 (6th Cir. 1988). District courts are not required to conjure up questions never squarely
presented to them or to construct full blown claims from sentence fragments. Beaudette, 775 F.2d
at 1278. To do so would "require ...[the courts] to explore exhaustively all potential claims of a pro
se plaintiff, ... [and] would...transform the district court from its legitimate advisory role to the
improper role of an advocate seeking out the strongest arguments and most successful strategies for
a party." Id.
Even construing the Complaint liberally in a light most favorable to the Plaintiff, Brand v.
Motley, 526 F.3d 921, 924 (6th Cir. 2008), it does not contain allegations reasonably suggesting he
might have a valid claim. See, Lillard v. Shelby County Bd. of Educ,, 76 F.3d 716 (6th Cir.
1996)(court not required to accept summary allegations or unwarranted legal conclusions in
determining whether complaint states a claim for relief).
Accordingly, this action is dismissed under section 1915A. Further, the Court certifies,
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), that an appeal from this decision could not be taken in good
faith.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
s/ Christopher A. Boyko
CHRISTOPHER A. BOYKO
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
DATED: September 27, 2012
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