Krona v. DOC et al

Filing 8

ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE COMPLAINT AND GRANTING PLAINTIFF LEAVE TO AMEND by Hon. Mary Alice Theiler. (Attachments: # 1 Amended 1983 Prisoner Civil Rights Complaint form)**10 PAGE(S), PRINT ALL**(Marvin Krona, Prisoner ID: 908843)(ST)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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MARVIN KRONA,
Plaintiff,

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Case No. C17-0404-RAJ-MAT

v.
ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE
COMPLAINT AND GRANTING
PLAINTIFF LEAVE TO AMEND

D.O.C., et al.,
Defendants.

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Plaintiff Marvin Krona has submitted to this Court for filing a civil rights complaint under

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42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Court, having reviewed plaintiff’s complaint, hereby finds and ORDERS

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as follows:

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(1)

Plaintiff is a Washington prisoner who is currently confined at the Monroe

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Correctional Complex (MCC) - Special Offender Unit (SOU). Plaintiff’s claims are somewhat

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difficult to discern, however, they appear to relate to a chance meeting between plaintiff and his

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ex-fiancée in 2014 while plaintiff was confined at the MCC - Twin Rivers Unit. (See Dkt. 4-2 at

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3.) According to plaintiff, his ex-fiancée was working in the sex offender program at the time he

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ran into her. (Id.) The ending of the relationship was apparently quite difficult for plaintiff,
ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE COMPLAINT AND
GRANTING PLAINTIFF LEAVE TO AMEND - 1

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causing him to “spen[d] several years destroying myself” following the break-up. (Dkt. 4-2 at 3.)

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Plaintiff maintains that he was finally healing from that experience when he ran into in the prison

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system. (Id.) Plaintiff claims that he notified staff of his encounter with his ex- fiancée

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immediately, but they kept him at the same facility, housing him with sex offenders, for an

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additional four months, which caused “old wounds” related to the relationship to be “ripped open.”

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(Id.) Plaintiff contends that the DOC thereafter began “messing with” him, which apparently

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included improperly confining him in a mental health unit and interfering with his ability to obtain

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work release. (Id.)

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Plaintiff identifies the DOC (Department of Corrections), and four MCC employees as

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defendants in this action. (See id. at 1-3.) Plaintiff seeks relief from this Court in the form of an

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Order directing that he be sent to work release. (Id. at 4.) He also seeks a “full investigation” of

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his time spent in DOC custody. (Id.)
(2)

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In order to sustain a cause of action under §1983 a plaintiff must show (1) that he

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suffered a violation of rights protected by the Constitution or created by federal statute, and (2)

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that the violation was proximately caused by a person acting under color of state or federal law.

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See Crumpton v. Gates, 947 F.2d 1418, 1420 (9th Cir. 1991). To satisfy the second prong, a

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plaintiff must allege facts showing how individually named defendants caused or personally

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participated in causing the harm alleged in the complaint. See Arnold v. IBM, 637 F.2d 1350, 1355

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(9th Cir. 1981). A defendant cannot be held liable solely on the basis of supervisory responsibility

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or position. Monell v. Department of Social Servs., of City of New York, 436 U.S. 658, 691-694

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(1978). Rather, a plaintiff must allege that a defendant’s own conduct violated his civil rights.

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City of Canton, Ohio v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378, 385-90 (1989).

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ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE COMPLAINT AND
GRANTING PLAINTIFF LEAVE TO AMEND - 2

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(3)

The Court declines to order that plaintiff’s complaint be served on defendants

because the complaint is deficient in the following respects:
(a)

Plaintiff identifies the DOC as a defendant in the caption of his complaint.

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However, the United States Supreme Court has made clear that states and state agencies are not

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“persons” subject to suit under § 1983. See Will v. Michigan Department of State Police, 491 U.S.

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58 (1989). In addition, it is well established that, under the Eleventh Amendment, an unconsenting

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state is immune from suits brought in federal courts by its own citizens. See Edelman v. Jordan,

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415 U.S. 651, 662-63 (1974). The State of Washington has not waived its Eleventh Amendment

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immunity for suits such as the one presented here. See Whiteside v. State of Washington, 534

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F.Supp. 774 (D.C. Wash. 1982). Because the DOC is an agency of the State of Washington, any

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intended claim against the DOC is essentially one against the state itself and is therefore barred

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under the Eleventh Amendment. See Regents of the University of California v. Doe, 519 U.S. 425,

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429-31 (1997).

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(b)

Plaintiff does not identify in his complaint the federal constitutional right he

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believes was violated by the conduct of defendants, and the facts alleged do not appear to implicate

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federal constitutional concerns. As far as this Court can discern, plaintiff’s complaints involve his

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housing designation and/or classification status at MCC, and the fact that he has not been sent to

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work release. However, a prisoner does not have a protected liberty interest in the location of his

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confinement, Meachum v. Fano, 427 U.S. 215, 223-27 (1976), nor does he have a liberty interest

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in a particular classification status, Hernandez v. Johnston, 833 F.2d 1316, 1318 (9th Cir. 1987)

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(citing Moody v. Daggett, 429 U.S. 78 (1976)). The Ninth Circuit has also made clear that a

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prisoner has no constitutional right to rehabilitation and, thus, no constitutional right to

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participation in a work release program. See Coakley v. Murphy, 884 F.2d 1218, 1221 (9th Cir.
ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE COMPLAINT AND
GRANTING PLAINTIFF LEAVE TO AMEND - 3

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1989).

If plaintiff wishes to proceed with this action, he must identify a viable federal

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constitutional claim.
(c)

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Plaintiff has not alleged specific facts showing how each named defendant

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personally participated in causing the harm alleged in the complaint. Assuming plaintiff is able to

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identify a viable claim for relief, he will also have to set forth specific facts demonstrating that

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each named defendant personally participated in causing him harm of federal constitutional

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dimension.

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(4)

Plaintiff may file an amended complaint curing the above noted deficiencies within

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thirty (30) days of the date on which this Order is signed. The amended complaint must carry the

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same case number as this one. If no amended complaint is timely filed, the Court will recommend

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that this action be dismissed under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) for failure to state a claim upon

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which relief may be granted.

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Plaintiff is advised that an amended pleading operates as a complete substitute for an

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original pleading. See Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258, 1262 (9th Cir.) (citing Hal Roach

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Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner & Co., Inc., 896 F.2d 1542, 1546 (9th Cir. 1990) (as amended),

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cert. denied, 506 U.S. 915 (1992). Thus, any amended complaint must clearly identify the

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defendant(s), the constitutional claim(s) asserted, the specific facts which plaintiff believes support

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each claim, and the specific relief requested.

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ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE COMPLAINT AND
GRANTING PLAINTIFF LEAVE TO AMEND - 4

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(5)

The Clerk is directed to send plaintiff the appropriate forms so that he may file an

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amended complaint. The Clerk is further directed to send copies of this Order to plaintiff and to

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the Honorable Richard A. Jones.

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DATED this 8th day of May, 2017.

A

Mary Alice Theiler
United States Magistrate Judge

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ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE COMPLAINT AND
GRANTING PLAINTIFF LEAVE TO AMEND - 5