James v. Gregoire et al

Filing 5

ORDER that this Court is without subject matter jurisdiction and Plaintiff's Complaint is DISMISSED. Signed by Judge Ronald B. Leighton.(CMG; cc to Plaintiff)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 THIS MATTER is before the Court upon Plaintiff's request to proceed In Forma Pauperis and proposed Complaint. This Court has discretion to grant or deny In Forma Pauperis applications and may sua sponte dismiss an In Forma Pauperis action before service of process. See Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1226 (9th Cir. 1984). Although Plaintiff's proposed Complaint claims that this Court has jurisdiction based on a federal question and cites to the First and Fourteenth Amendments and to 42 U.S.C. §1983, the only potential cause of action contained in the body of the Complaint is a claim for defamation under state law against one of the named Defendants, Assistant Attorney General Jarold P. Cartwright. Under 42 U.S.C. §1983 a plaintiff may bring a cause of action for violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. He must show that a person acting under color of state law ORDER - 1 JON C. JAMES, Plaintiff, v. GOV CHRISTINE GREGOIRE, ROB MCKENNA, Defendants. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT TACOMA Case No. C10-5025RBL ORDER

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

deprived him of his constitutional rights. Plaintiff's proposed Complaint may contain a state law claim for defamation, however, defamation in the context of his proposed Complaint does not rise to a constitutional violation. Therefore, this Court is without subject matter jurisdiction and Plaintiff's Complaint is DISMISSED. See 28 U.S.C. §1915(e)(2)(B). IT IS SO ORDERED. The clerk shall send an uncertified copy of this Order to Plaintiff, all counsel of record and to any party appearing pro se.
nd day of January, 2010. DATED this 22

A
RONALD B. LEIGHTON UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

ORDER - 2