Bey v. South Carolina Berkeley 9th Judicial Court et al

Filing 14

ORDER AND OPINION adopting 12 Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge Mary Gordon Baker. Plaintiff's Complaint is dismissed with prejudice and without issuance of service of process. Signed by Honorable Richard M Gergel on 2/28/2018.(ssam, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
CHARLESTON DIVISION
Demeian Pinckney Bey,

Plaintiff,
V.

South Carolina Berkeley 9th Judicial
Circuit, et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No.: 2: 17-cv-3248

ORDER AND OPINION

This matter is before the Court on the Report and Recommendation ("R. & R.") of the
Magistrate Judge (Dkt. No. 12) recommending that Plaintiffs Complaint (Dkt. No. 1) be
summarily dismissed with prejudice and without issuance of service of process. For the reasons
set forth below, this Court adopts the R. & R. as the order of the Court.
I.

Background and Relevant Facts

Plaintiff Demeian Pinckney Bey filed this civil action on December 1, 2017 pursuant to
42 U.S.C. § 1983 . Plaintiff is proceedingpro se and inforrnapauperis. Plaintiff claims that he is
a "Moorish American National" not subject to law (Dkt. No. 1 at 4) and sues seven Defendants
involved in his state prosecution. The Magistrate Judge has described Plaintiffs Complaint in
detail, correctly characterizing it as "largely nonsensical." (Dkt. No. 12 at 1-3.) Plaintiffs
Complaint essentially claims that he is not subject to the state court' s jurisdiction because he is a
Moorish National. He seeks dismissal of all state charges against him and monetary damages.

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II.

Legal Standards
a. Pro Se Pleadings
This Court liberally construes complaints filed by pro se litigants to allow the

development of a potentially meritorious case. See Cruz v. Beto, 405 U.S . 319 (1972); Haines v.
Kerner, 404 U.S. 519 (1972). The requirement of liberal construction does not mean that the

Court can ignore a clear failure in the pleadings to allege facts which set forth a viable federal
claim, nor can the Court assume the existence of a genuine issue of material fact where none
exists. See Weller v. Dep 't of Social Services, 901F.2d387 (4th Cir. 1990).
b. Magistrate's Report and Recommendation
The Magistrate Judge makes only a recommendation to this Court. The recommendation
has no presumptive weight, and the responsibility for making a final determination remains with
this Court. See Mathews v. Weber , 423 U.S . 261 , 270-71 (1976). This Court is charged with
making a de nova determination of those portions of the Report and Recommendation to which
specific objection is made. Additionally, the Court may "accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in
part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge." 28 U. S.C. § 636(b)(l).
III.

Discussion
The Magistrate Judge explained in the R. & R. that this matter should be summarily

dismissed because it "fails to state a plausible claim for relief, asserts frivolous claims, and seeks
monetary damages from defendants who are immune from such relief. " (Dkt. No. 12 at 4-13 .)
Objections to the R. & R. were due by February 26, 2018 1• No party has filed Objections to the
R. & R. In the absence of any specific objections, "a district court need not conduct a de nova

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The Docket indicates that Objections to the R. & R. were due by February 21 , 2018. (Dkt. No. 12.)
Plaintiff is afforded an additional three business days to account for his service by mail, so his Objections
to the R. & R. were due by February 26, 2018.

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review, but instead must only satisfy itself that there is no clear error on the face of the record in
order to accept the recommendation." See Diamond v. Colonial Life & Accident Ins. Co., 416
F.3d 310, 315 (4th Cir. 2005) (internal quotation omitted). This Court finds that the Magistrate
Judge has correctly applied the controlling law to the facts of this case.
IV.

Conclusion

For the reasons set forth above, this Court adopts the R. & R. (Dkt. No. 12) as the order of
the Court. Plaintiffs Complaint is dismissed with prejudice and without issuance of service of
process.

AND IT IS SO ORDERED.

rgel
United States District Court Judge

, 2018
February <~
Charleston, South Carolina

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