Clark v. Johnson et al

Filing 8

ORDER DISMISSING CASE. Signed by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier on 3/21/16. (DJP)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF SOUTH DAKOTA
SOUTHERN DIVISION
JONATHAN D. CLARK, SR.,

4:16-CV-04025-KES

Plaintiff,
vs.

ORDER DISMISSING CASE

CRYSTAL JOHNSON, MINNEHAHA
COUNTY, SECOND JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
COURTHOUSE, CITY OF SIOUX FALLS,
Defendants.
Plaintiff, Jonathan D. Clark, Sr., is an inmate at Mike Durfee State
Prison in Springfield, South Dakota. Plaintiff filed a pro se civil rights lawsuit
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. ' 1983 claiming that defendants violated his
constitutional rights. Docket 1.
Clark alleges that his sentence and the way it was decided violated the
Double Jeopardy Clause as well as his rights under the Due Process Clause
and the Eighth Amendment. Docket 1 at 4-8. He seeks damages to
compensate for the additional time he was incarcerated because of these
sentencing issues. Id. at 9.
The Supreme Court “has held that a prisoner in state custody cannot
use a § 1983 action to challenge ‘the fact or duration of his confinement.’ He
must seek federal habeas corpus relief (or appropriate state relief) instead.”
Wilkinson v. Dotson, 544 U.S. 74, 78 (2005) (quoting Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411

U.S. 475, 489 (1973)). If Clark wishes to challenge his sentence in federal
court, he must first bring his claims in state court. See Heck v. Humphrey,
512 U.S. 477, 480-81 (1994) (“28 U.S.C. § 2254 requires that state prisoners
first seek redress in a state forum”). He should also be aware that both federal
and state habeas procedures have statutes of limitation. Accordingly, it is
ORDERED that Clark’s complaint (Docket 1) is dismissed.
Dated March 21, 2016.
BY THE COURT:
/s/ Karen E. Schreier
KAREN E. SCHREIER
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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