Crawford v. Racine County Jail
Filing
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SCREENING ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge William E Duffin on 5/22/2017 GRANTING 2 Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to Proceed Without Prepayment of the Filing Fee. The agency having custody of the plaintiff shall collect from his institution tru st account the $350 balance of the filing fee. Plaintiff sues only one defendant: the Racine County Jail. The Jail is not a suable entity under 42 USC § 1983. Accordingly, the plaintiff cannot proceed with his lawsuit because he has not nam ed a proper defendant. The court will allow the plaintiff to file an amended complaint to cure this deficiency. On or before 6/23/2017 the plaintiff shall file an amended complaint. If he does not, his lawsuit will be dismissed. (cc: all counsel - Plaintiff and Sheriff-Racine County Jail) (lz)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
JASON A. CRAWFORD,
Plaintiff,
v.
RACINE COUNTY JAIL,
Defendant.
Case No. 17‐CV‐512
ORDER
Plaintiff Jason A. Crawford, who is representing himself, filed a complaint under
42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that the Racine County Jail violated his constitutional rights.
This order resolves Crawford’s motion for leave to proceed without prepayment of the
filing fee and screens his complaint.
Motion for Leave to Proceed without Prepayment of the Filing Fee
The Prison Litigation Reform Act gives courts discretion to allow prisoners to
proceed with their lawsuits without prepaying the $350 filing fee, as long as they
comply with certain requirements. 28 U.S.C. § 1915. One of those requirements is that
they pay an initial partial filing fee. On April 24, 2017, the court decided that Crawford
lacks the means to pay an initial partial filing fee, so the court waived that requirement.
The court will grant Crawford’s motion to proceed without prepayment of the filing fee.
He must pay the filing fee over time as explained at the end of this order.
Screening of the Complaint
The court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief
against a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915A(a). The court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has
raised claims that are legally “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon
which relief may be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is
immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b).
To state a cognizable claim under the federal notice pleading system, a plaintiff is
required to provide a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that [he] is
entitled to relief[.]” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). To state a claim for relief under 42 U.S.C. §
1983, a plaintiff must allege that: 1) he was deprived of a right secured by the
Constitution or laws of the United States; and 2) the deprivation was visited upon him
by a person or persons acting under color of state law. Buchanan‐Moore v. County of
Milwaukee, 570 F.3d 824, 827 (7th Cir. 2009) (citing Kramer v. Village of North Fond du Lac,
384 F.3d 856, 861 (7th Cir. 2004)); see also Gomez v. Toledo, 446 U.S. 635, 640 (1980).
The court is obliged to give the plaintiff’s pro se allegations, “however inartfully
pleaded,” a liberal construction. See Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (quoting
Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106 (1976)).
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The Complaint’s Allegations
Crawford alleges that on February 12, 2017, he was placed in a holding cell with
cold air blowing all day, which resulted in a sore throat and constant shivering.
Crawford also states that the lights were never turned off, making it impossible for him
to sleep.
Shortly after being placed in the holding cell, he was sent to the hospital for a few
days because of stomach issues. He returned to the Jail and was placed in general
population. After about a week, Crawford (for unspecified reasons) swallowed a pencil.
Crawford told the Jail staff and was seen by a nurse; he eventually was sent to the
hospital for x‐rays and a CT scan. The hospital could not find the pencil so it discharged
him. Crawford insisted that he had swallowed a pencil, but the Jail staff did not believe
him.
Crawford was placed back in the holding cell on twenty‐three hour lockdown.
As before, it was cold and the lights were constantly on. Crawford states that he told the
Jail staff that he was claustrophobic and asked to be housed with people or moved to
the medical unit, but they refused to move him. As a result of the stress, Crawford
swallowed pieces of a plastic spork. Crawford told the Jail staff, but they didn’t believe
him at first. It took them five hours to get him to the hospital.
The hospital admitted Crawford in order to do a scope the next morning, but he
was taken into surgery in the middle of the night because the surgeon said they could
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not wait. During the surgery, the surgeon found the pencil. Crawford stayed in the
hospital for about a week and then was released back to the Jail. The Jail staff placed
Crawford back in the cold holding cell instead of in the medical unit; he was placed on
suicide watch.
Crawford begged to go to the medical unit, but his request was refused. He then
asked for materials to file a lawsuit. Again, the Jail staff refused and instead gave him
eighteen days of discipline for defamation of character and attempting to degrade the
reputation of the Jail.
Two weeks after surgery, with staples still in his stomach, Crawford began his
discipline, which consisted of staying in the cold cell with the lights on all of the time. In
addition, the Jail staff took his mattress for twelve hours a day, forcing him to lay on the
concrete all day while he healed. Crawford asserts that he was in pain, but the Jail staff
would not give him anything for the pain. He also asserts that he asked for a double
mattress or thicker mattress at night, but the request was denied.
Crawford was eventually released and began to file formal complaints. He
explains that he received responses to only four of his twenty‐three complaints. He
states that he cannot detail all of his complaints because the indigent writing kit (which
took more than a month to arrive) does not provide him with enough paper.
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The Court’s Analysis
Crawford sues only one defendant: the Racine County Jail. The Jail is not a
suable entity under § 1983 because it “is not a legal entity separable from the county
government which it serves and is therefore not subject to suit.” See Whiting v. Marathon
County Sheriff’s Dep’t, 382 F.3d 700, 704 (7th Cir. 2004) (citing Buchanan v. Kenosha, 57
F.Supp.2d 675, 678 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (citing cases)); Dean v. Barber, 951 F.2d 1210, 1214‐15
(11th Cir. 1992). Accordingly, Crawford cannot proceed with his lawsuit because he has
not named a proper defendant. The court will allow Crawford to file an amended
complaint to cure this deficiency.
Crawford appears to state three possible claims: 1) that officers were deliberately
indifferent to his serious medical needs; 2) that officers were deliberately indifferent to
the adverse conditions of his confinement; and 3) that officers retaliated against him
when he tried to file a lawsuit. Section 1983 “creates a cause of action based on personal
liability and predicated upon fault; thus, liability does not attach unless the individual
defendant caused or participated in a constitutional violation.” Vance v. Peters, 97 F.3d
987, 991 (7th Cir. 1996) (emphasis added) (quoting Sheik‐Abdi v. McClellan, 37 F.3d 1240,
1248 (7th Cir. 1994)). In other words, because § 1983 makes public employees liable “for
their own misdeeds but not for anyone else’s,” Burks v. Raemisch, 555 F.3d 592, 596 (7th
Cir.2009), Crawford must name as defendants those individuals who he believes
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personally violated his constitutional rights by failing to respond to his serious medical
needs.
Crawford indicates in his complaint that he does not know the names of the
officers. If this is still the case, he may use John Doe or Jane Doe in place of the officer’s
actual name. If Crawford files an amended complaint and the court allows him to
proceed on a claim against a Doe defendant, Crawford can use discovery to identify the
Doe defendant’s real name.
If Crawford chooses to file an amended complaint, he must do so by June 23,
2017. His amended complaint does not need to be lengthy, but he should be careful to
provide the court with enough facts to answer to the following question: 1) Who was
involved?; 2) What did each person do?; 3) Where did it occur?; and 4) When did it
occur? In other words, Crawford’s amended complaint must provide each defendant
with notice of what he or she allegedly did to violate his rights. If Crawford does not
file an amended complaint by the deadline, the court will dismiss this lawsuit based on
his failure to diligently prosecute it. See Civil L.R. 41(c). If Crawford no longer wants to
pursue this lawsuit, he does not need to take any further action.
The amended complaint must bear the docket number assigned to this case and
be labeled “Amended Complaint.” The amended complaint will take the place of the
prior complaint and must be complete in itself without reference to the original
complaint. See Duda v. Bd. of Educ. of Franklin Park Pub. Sch. Dist. No. 84, 133 F.3d 1054,
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1056‐57 (7th Cir. 1998). In Duda, the appellate court emphasized that, in such instances,
the “prior pleading is in effect withdrawn as to all matters not restated in the amended
pleading[.]” Id. at 1057 (citation omitted). If an amended complaint is received, the court
will screen it pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.
Finally, the court notes that Crawford has sent six letters to the court. This is not
an appropriate way to communicate with the court. If Crawford wants the court to do
something, he must file a motion so that the court is notified that he wants it to take
action and so that the defendants have an opportunity to respond. Crawford must
remember that the court’s role is not to generally offer an opinion on the Jail’s policies
or manage its day‐to‐day practices. The court will respond only to issues related to the
litigation of the claims in Crawford’s amended complaint. The court also cautions
Crawford that it is not permitted to provide him with legal advice, so it cannot help him
with his questions about how to proceed in this litigation.
At this time, Crawford should focus on preparing his amended complaint. If he
does so and the court allows him to proceed on his claims, he may communicate
directly with the defendants’ attorney. Crawford should seek help from the court only
after he has first tried to resolve a dispute about the litigation with opposing counsel.
Crawford should present any request he has that is unrelated to this lawsuit to the jail
staff. Neither the court nor opposing counsel will be able to help with matters unrelated
to this lawsuit.
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ORDER
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Crawford’s motion for leave to proceed
without prepayment of the filing fee (ECF No. 2) is GRANTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that on or before June 23, 2017, Crawford shall file
an amended complaint fixing the problems in the original complaint as described in this
order. If Crawford does not file an amended complaint by the deadline, the court will
dismiss this lawsuit.
IT IS ALSO ORDERED that the agency having custody of Crawford shall collect
from his institution trust account the $350 balance of the filing fee by collecting monthly
payments from the prisoner’s prison trust account in an amount equal to 20% of the
preceding monthʹs income credited to the prisonerʹs trust account and forwarding
payments to the Clerk of Court each time the amount in the account exceeds $10 in
accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). The payments shall be clearly identified by the
case name and number assigned to this action. If Crawford is transferred to another
institution, county, state, or federal, the transferring institution shall forward a copy of
this Order along with Crawford’s remaining balance to the receiving institution.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this order be sent to the officer in
charge of the agency where Crawford is confined.
IT IS ALSO ORDERED that Crawford shall submit all correspondence and legal
material to:
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Office of the Clerk
United States District Court
Eastern District of Wisconsin
362 United States Courthouse
517 E. Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
PLEASE DO NOT MAIL ANYTHING DIRECTLY TO THE COURT’S CHAMBERS. It
will only delay the processing of the matter.
Crawford is again advised that failure to make a timely submission will result in
the dismissal of this action for failure to prosecute. In addition, the parties must notify
the Clerk of Court of any change of address. Failure to do so could result in orders or
other information not being timely delivered, thus affecting the legal rights of the
parties.
Dated at Milwaukee, Wisconsin this 22nd day of May, 2017.
WILLIAM E. DUFFIN
U.S. Magistrate Judge
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