Assa'ad-Faltas v. State of South Carolina et al

Filing 17

ORDER directing Clerk not to authorize service and advising plaintiff (or petitioner) to notify Clerk in writing of any change of address; granting 2 MOTION for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis, denying 6 MOTION to designate a US Judge from outside SC and denying 6 MOTION for Permanent Injunction. Signed by Magistrate Judge Shiva V Hodges on 01/13/2012. (ttil, ) (Main Document 17 replaced on 1/13/2012) (ttil, ).

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
COLUMBIA DIVISION
Marie Assa’ad-Faltas, MD, MPH,
Petitioner,
vs.
State of South Carolina; Nimrata R.
Haley, as SC’s Governor; Alan Wilson,
as SC’s Attorney General; Jean Toal, as
administrative head of all SC’s state
courts; Mark Keel, as Chief of SC’s
State Law Enforcement Division
(SLED); Ken Lancaster, as Acting Head
of SC’s Department of Public Safety;
Leon Lott, as Sheriff of Richland
County, SC, and Warden of the Alvin S.
Glenn Detention Center (ASGDC);
Jeannette McBride, as Richland
County’s Clerk of Court; William
Nettles, as U.S. Attorney for the District
of South Carolina (D.S.C.); the City of
Columbia, SC; and Leslie Coggiola,
officially as SC’s Disciplinary Counsel,
all officially and solely for injunctive
relief,
Respondents.

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C/A No.: 1:11-3079-TLW-SVH

ORDER

This is an action seeking habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Petitioner
is currently released on bond awaiting trial on state criminal charges. Under Local Civil
Rule 73.02(B)(2) (D.S.C.), pretrial proceedings in this action have been referred to the
assigned United States Magistrate Judge.
Petitioner has requested to proceed without prepaying the filing fee by filing a
document entitled Motion and Declaration for Leave to Proceed IFP [Entry #2], which is
construed as a motion to proceed in forma pauperis. Based on a review of the motion,
Petitioner’s request to proceed in forma pauperis is granted.

Petitioner has also filed a Motion to “Designate a U.S. Judge or Justice from
outside South Carolina or from the Fourth Circuit to Hear this Matter.” [Entry # 6].
Petitioner’s motion, and supplemental pleadings in support thereof, provide no basis for
recusal of the judges assigned to this action. [Entry #7, #10, #12, #13]. Therefore,
Petitioner’s Motion to Designate a U.S. Judge or Justice from outside South Carolina or
from the Fourth Circuit to Hear this Matter is denied.
Petitioner’s Motion further seeks a “Permanent Injunction Ordering all Clerks in
South Carolina’s State Courts to Accept All pro se Submissions from Dr. Assa’ad-Faltas
Without Discrimination.” Petitioner attaches to the motion an order from the South
Carolina Supreme Court which prohibits Petitioner from filing any documents pro se,
“due to the frivolous, repetitive and abusive nature of appellant’s filings in [the South
Carolina Supreme Court] and other courts in this state.” [Entry # 6-1 at p. 11]. The order
states that Petitioner “is not precluded from addressing any grievances she may have in
the courts of this state, assuming she is represented by counsel and such grievances are
not frivolous.” Id. at 11–12. Petitioner has failed to make a strong showing of irreparable
harm if the injunction were to be denied. See The Real Truth About Obama, Inc. v. Fed.
Election Comm’n, 575 F.3d 342, 345–47 (4th Cir. 2009) (discussing factors used to
determine whether injunctive relief should be granted prior to trial), vacated in part on
other grounds, 130 S. Ct. 2371 (2010). Therefore, Plaintiff’s Motion for a Permanent
Injunction is denied.
TO THE CLERK OF COURT:
The Clerk of Court shall not serve the § 2241 petition upon Respondents because
the petition is subject to dismissal.
The Clerk of Court shall not enter any change of address submitted by Petitioner
which directs that mail be sent to a person other than Petitioner unless that person is an
attorney admitted to practice before this court who has entered a formal appearance.
TO PETITIONER:
Petitioner must place the civil action number listed above on any document filed
in this case. Any future filings in this case must be sent to 901 Richland Street,
Columbia, South Carolina 29201. All documents requiring Petitioner’s signature shall
be signed with Petitioner’s full legal name written in Petitioner’s own handwriting. Pro
se litigants shall not use the “s/typed name” format used in the Electronic Case Filing
System. In all future filings with this court, Petitioner is directed to use letter-sized (8½
inches x 11 inches) paper only, to write or type text on one side of a sheet of paper only
and not to write or type on both sides of any sheet of paper. Petitioner is further
instructed not to write to the edge of the paper, but to maintain one inch margins on the
top, bottom, and sides of each paper submitted.

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Petitioner is a pro se litigant. Petitioner’s attention is directed to the following
important notice:
You are ordered to always keep the Clerk of Court advised in writing (901
Richland Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29201) if your address
changes for any reason, so as to assure that orders or other matters that
specify deadlines for you to meet will be received by you. If as a result of
your failure to comply with this order, you fail to meet a deadline set by
this court, your case may be dismissed for violating this order. Therefore, if you have a change of address before this case is ended, you must
comply with this order by immediately advising the Clerk of Court in
writing of such change of address and providing the court with the docket
number of all pending cases you have filed with this court. Your failure to
do so will not be excused by the court.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

January 13, 2012
Columbia, South Carolina

Shiva V. Hodges
United States Magistrate Judge

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