dismissal required of in forma pauperis proceedings which seek monetary relief from immune defendants
How later courts described this case
- dismissal required of in forma pauperis proceedings which seek monetary relief from immune defendants
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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11 OCTAVIO JAMAL HENDERSON, Case No. 21-cv-01771-DAD-BAK
12 Plaintiff, SCREENING ORDER GRANTING
PLAINTIFF LEAVE TO FILE AN
13 v. AMENDED COMPLAINT
14 BAKERSFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT, (ECF No. 1)
15 Defendant. THIRTY DAY DEADLINE
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17 Octavio Jamal Henderson (“Plaintiff”), proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, filed
18 this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Currently before the Court is Plaintiff’s
19 complaint, filed on December 15, 2021. (ECF No. 1.)
20 I.
21 SCREENING REQUIREMENT
22 Notwithstanding any filing fee, the court shall dismiss a case if at any time the Court
23 determines that the complaint “(i) is frivolous or malicious; (ii) fails to state a claim on which
24 relief may be granted; or (iii) seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from
25 such relief.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2); see Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1129 (9th Cir. 2000)
26 (section 1915(e) applies to all in forma pauperis complaints, not just those filed by prisoners);
27 Calhoun v. Stahl, 254 F.3d 845 (9th Cir. 2001) (dismissal required of in forma pauperis
proceedings which seek monetary relief from immune defendants); Cato v. United States, 70
1 F.3d 1103, 1106 (9th Cir. 1995) (district court has discretion to dismiss in forma pauperis
2 complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)); Barren v. Harrington, 152 F.3d 1193 (9th Cir. 1998)
3 (affirming sua sponte dismissal for failure to state a claim). The Court exercises its discretion to
4 screen the plaintiff’s complaint in this action to determine if it “(i) is frivolous or malicious; (ii)
5 fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted; or (iii) seeks monetary relief against a
6 defendant who is immune from such relief.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2).
7 In determining whether a complaint fails to state a claim, the Court uses the same
8 pleading standard used under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a). A complaint must contain “a
9 short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief. . . .” Fed. R.
10 Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are not required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the
11 elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.”
12 Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S.
13 544, 555 (2007)).
14 In reviewing the pro se complaint, the Court is to liberally construe the pleadings and
15 accept as true all factual allegations contained in the complaint. Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89,
16 94 (2007). Although a court must accept as true all factual allegations contained in a complaint,
17 a court need not accept a plaintiff’s legal conclusions as true. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. “[A]
18 complaint [that] pleads facts that are ‘merely consistent with’ a defendant’s liability . . . ‘stops
19 short of the line between possibility and plausibility of entitlement to relief.’” Id. (quoting
20 Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557). Therefore, the complaint must contain sufficient factual content for
21 the court to draw the reasonable conclusion that the defendant is liable for the misconduct
22 alleged. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678.
23 II.
24 COMPLAINT ALLEGATIONS
25 Plaintiff filed this complaint while incarcerated, however the allegations described
26 occurred in relation to an incident that led to his arrest. Plaintiff is not challenging his conditions
27 of confinement. The Court accepts Plaintiff’s allegations in the complaint as true only for the
1 The caption page of the complaint identifies the Bakersfield Police Department as the
2 only Defendant. (Compl. 1,1 ECF No. 1.) In the section where Plaintiff is to list the Defendants,
3 the police department is not named, but rather Plaintiff names three police officers as
4 Defendants: (1) Keith Schlecht (“Schlecht”), sued in their official capacity, identified as a
5 detective; (2) Eby Bailey (“Bailey”), sued in their official capacity, identified as a police officer;
6 and (3) Cory Blanchard (“Blanchard”), sued in their individual capacity, and identified as a
7 police officer. (Compl. 3.)
8 In the section of the complaint where Plaintiff is to describe how each Defendant was
9 acting under color of law, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Schlecht failed to fully investigate an
10 incident that occurred on June 19, 2020. (Compl. 3.) Plaintiff states that “[a]long with
11 responding officers, they decided to accept the events that were described by the driver of the
12 [vehicle] that ran me over. He also used [an] incorrect social security number to obtain [a] false
13 arrest warrant.” (Compl. 3.) Plaintiff states that Defendant Bailey “[f]ailed to investigate [the]
14 incident . . . and accepted [the] alleged victim[’]s version of events due to racial bias against
15 me.” (Compl. 3.) Similarly, Plaintiff states that Defendant Blanchard “[f]ailed to fully
16 investigate [the] incident . . . and accepted [the] alleged victim[’]s versions of events due to
17 racial bias against me.” (Compl. 3.)
18 In the next section of the complaint where Plaintiff is to describe his claim, states that he
19 was not afforded the right to competent legal assistance; there was abuse of power by the
20 detective and police officers; Plaintiff was not given any opportunity to review evidence; a false
21 arrest warrant was requested using an incorrect social security number; the entire justice process
22 was not followed; and finally, that the two witnesses that were in the car with Plaintiff were not
23 interviewed. (Compl. 4.) In further describing the incident, Plaintiff states that:
24 On the day (evening) that I was hit by the car, all of the police
officers accepted the description of events described by the
25 defendant. I was questioned only one time, and I was in the
hospital with a head injury. The detective who was put in charge
26 of the investigation did not investigate what happened. I called
27 1 All references to pagination of specific documents pertain to those as indicated on the upper right corners via the
CM/ECF electronic court docketing system.
1 him to check on the status of the investigation and I was told I was
the one that was going to be arrested. No other time was there any
2 contact between us. In December 2020, a bounty officer arrived at
the house with an arrest warrant with a $67,000.00 bail for
3 vandalism. We noticed that the social security number was
incorrect, one of the digits was changed. The 911 officer who
4 answered the original call refused to send assistance before I was
hit.
5
6 (Compl. 4-5.)
7 For the reasons discussed below, Plaintiff has failed to state a claim for a violation of his
8 federal rights. Plaintiff shall be provided the opportunity to file an amended complaint to
9 attempt to correct the deficiencies at issue.
10 III.
11 DISCUSSION
12 A. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8
13 Pursuant to Rule 8(a), a complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim
14 showing that the pleader is entitled to relief[.]” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). “Such a statement must
15 simply give the defendant fair notice of what the plaintiff’s claim is and the grounds upon which
16 it rests.” Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 512 (2002) (citation and internal
17 quotation marks omitted). Detailed factual allegations are not required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals
18 of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.”
19 Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (citation omitted). This is because, while factual allegations are accepted
20 as true, legal conclusions are not. Id.; see also Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556-57; Moss v. U.S.
21 Secret Serv., 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). Therefore, Plaintiff must set forth “sufficient
22 factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” A claim
23 has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the
24 reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at
25 678 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted).
26 As currently pled, Plaintiff’s complaint does not contain enough factual details to permit
27 the Court to draw the reasonable inference that any of the Defendants are liable for the
misconduct alleged. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. Plaintiff’s allegations are vague and conclusory
1 statements that his rights were violated because the police officers who responded to an incident
2 allegedly believed the other person’s story over Plaintiff’s. The actual events that occurred on
3 June 19, 2020 (or 2019)2, are not described in sufficient detail for the Court to understand what
4 happened between Plaintiff, the other party involved, and the officers. These conclusory
5 statements, insufficiently supported by factual details, do not suffice to state any claim against
6 any of the Defendants.
7 For these reasons, Plaintiff’s complaint fails to comply with Rule 8’s pleading standard.
8 If Plaintiff chooses to file an amended complaint, he should consider the legal standards the
9 Court provides in the following sections.
10 B. Abstention
11 Under principles of comity and federalism, a federal court should not interfere with
12 ongoing state criminal proceedings by granting injunctive or declaratory relief except under
13 special circumstances. Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 43-54 (1971). Younger abstention is
14 required when: (1) state proceedings, judicial in nature, are pending; (2) the state proceedings
15 involve important state interests; and (3) the state proceedings afford adequate opportunity to
16 raise the constitutional issue. Middlesex County Ethics Comm. V. Garden State Bar Ass’n, 457
17 U.S. 423, 432 (1982); Dubinka v. Judges of the Superior Court, 23 F.3d 218, 223 (9th Cir. 1994).
18 The rationale of Younger applies throughout the appellate proceedings, requiring that state
19 appellate review of a state court judgment be exhausted before federal court intervention is
20 permitted. Dubinka, 23 F.3d at 223. This Court will not interfere in the on-going criminal
21 proceedings currently pending against Plaintiff in state court.
22 Plaintiff’s complaint does not clearly describe whether he has been convicted of the
23 charges relating to the incident in question, or if his state court proceedings are ongoing.
24 Accordingly, to the extent Plaintiff seeks relief pertaining to state court proceedings that are
25 ongoing and that provide their own review and procedural processes for addressing any
26 constitutional violations that have not been exhausted, the Court will not interfere in such
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1 ongoing proceedings. To the extent Plaintiff has already been convicted, the Court finds the
2 complaint would be insufficient for the reasons explained in the next subsection regarding
3 habeas relief.
4 C. Habeas Relief
5 “Federal law opens two main avenues to relief on complaints related to imprisonment: a
6 petition for writ of habeas corpus, 28 U.S.C. § 2254, and a complaint under . . . 42 U.S.C. §
7 1983.” Muhammad v. Close, 540 U.S. 749, 750 (2004) (per curiam). “Challenges to the validity
8 of any confinement or to particulars affecting its duration are the province of habeas corpus;
9 requests for relief turning on circumstances of confinement may be presented in a § 1983
10 action.” Id. (internal citation omitted). It has long been established that state prisoners cannot
11 challenge the fact or duration of their confinement in a section 1983 action and their sole remedy
12 lies in habeas corpus relief. Wilkinson v. Dotson, 544 U.S. 74, 78 (2005). Often referred to as
13 the favorable termination rule or the Heck bar, this exception to section 1983’s otherwise broad
14 scope applies whenever state prisoners “seek to invalidate the duration of their confinement-
15 either directly through an injunction compelling speedier release or indirectly through a judicial
16 determination that necessarily implies the unlawfulness of the State’s custody.” Wilkinson, 544
17 U.S. at 81; Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 482, 486-487 (1994); Edwards v. Balisok, 520
18 U.S. 641, 644 (1997).
19 In Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994), the Supreme Court held that in order to
20 recover damages for alleged “unconstitutional conviction or imprisonment, or for other harm
21 caused by actions whose unlawfulness would render a conviction or sentence invalid, a § 1983
22 plaintiff must prove that the conviction or sentence has been reversed on direct appeal, expunged
23 by executive order, declared invalid by a state tribunal authorized to make such determination, or
24 called into question by a federal court’s issuance of a writ of habeas corpus, 28 U.S.C. § 2254.”
25 512 U.S. at 486. Thus, “a state prisoner’s § 1983 action is barred (absent prior invalidation)-no
26 matter the relief sought (damages or equitable relief), no matter the target of the prisoner’s suit
27 (state conduct leading to conviction or internal prison proceedings)-if success in that action
1 would necessarily demonstrate the invalidity of confinement or its duration.” Wilkinson, 544
2 U.S. at 81-82.
3 Plaintiff’s complaint is unclear as to whether he has already been convicted of a crime in
4 relation to the incident in question. If Plaintiff has not had his sentence declared invalid, or if
5 Plaintiff is challenging any part of his sentence that has not been declared invalid, the proper
6 avenue to seek relief is by way of habeas corpus petition filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254.
7 Accordingly, to the extent Plaintiff wishes to challenge the fact or duration of his confinement
8 which has not been declared invalid by the state court, he must file a habeas corpus petition.
9 D. Section 1983, Supervisory Liability, and Municipal Liability
10 Section 1983 provides a cause of action for the violation of a plaintiff’s constitutional or
11 other federal rights by persons acting under color of state law. Nurre v. Whitehead, 580 F.3d
12 1087, 1092 (9th Cir 2009); Long v. County of Los Angeles, 442 F.3d 1178, 1185 (9th Cir. 2006);
13 Jones v. Williams, 297 F.3d 930, 934 (9th Cir. 2002). To state a claim under section 1983, a
14 plaintiff is required to show that (1) each defendant acted under color of state law and (2) each
15 defendant deprived her of rights secured by the Constitution or federal law. Long, 442 F.3d at
16 1185 (9th Cir. 2006). There is no respondeat superior liability under section 1983, and
17 therefore, each defendant is only liable for his or her own misconduct. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 677.
18 To state a claim, Plaintiff must demonstrate that each defendant personally participated in the
19 deprivation of his rights. Jones, 297 F.3d at 934.
20 In other words, to the extent Plaintiff is attempting to make a claim against an officer that
21 was not personally involved but was only acting as a supervisor over an officer, Plaintiff cannot
22 state a claim unless they were personally and directly involved in the violation of his rights. As
23 the Court found above, Plaintiff’s complaint contains insufficient factual details, and specifically
24 here, there are insufficient factual details to determine if Plaintiff is alleging direct involvement
25 by the named officers or is inferring an allegation from their presence at the scene in relation to
26 other officers.
27 Additionally, as noted above, Plaintiff may be attempting to name the Bakersfield Police
1 acts of its employees under a respondeat superior theory of liability. Monell v. Department of
2 Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 691 (1978). Rather, a local government unit may only be held
3 liable if it inflicts the injury complained of through a policy or custom. Waggy v. Spokane
4 County Washington, 594 F.3d 707, 713 (9th Cir. 2010). Generally, to establish municipal
5 liability, the plaintiff must show that a constitutional right was violated, the municipality had a
6 policy, that policy was deliberately indifferent to plaintiff’s constitutional rights, and the policy
7 was “the moving force” behind the constitutional violation. Bd. of Cty. Comm’rs of Bryan Cty.,
8 Okl. v. Brown, 520 U.S. 397, 400 (1997); Burke v. County of Alameda, 586 F.3d 725, 734 (9th
9 Cir. 2009); Gibson v. County of Washoe, Nev., 290 F.3d 1175, 1185-86 (9th Cir. 2002). “The
10 custom or policy must be a ‘deliberate choice to follow a course of action . . . made from among
11 various alternatives by the official or officials responsible for establishing final policy with
12 respect to the subject matter in question.’ ” Castro v. Cty. of Los Angeles, 833 F.3d 1060, 1075
13 (9th Cir. 2016) (quoting Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati, 475 U.S. 469, 483 (1986)).
14 A failure to train may establish liability where such omission of training amounts to
15 deliberate indifference to a constitutional right. Clouthier v. Cty. of Contra Costa, 591 F.3d
16 1232, 1249-50 (9th Cir. 2010), overruled on other grounds by Castro, 833 F.3d 1060. This
17 standard is met when “the need for more or different training is so obvious, and the inadequacy
18 so likely to result in the violation of constitutional rights, that the policymakers of the city can
19 reasonably be said to have been deliberately indifferent to the need.” Id. at 1249 (quoting City of
20 Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378, 390 (1989). “For example, if police activities in arresting
21 fleeing felons ‘so often violate constitutional rights that the need for further training must have
22 been plainly obvious to the city policymakers,’ then the city’s failure to train may constitute
23 ‘deliberate indifference.’ ” Id. “Only where a failure to train reflects a ‘deliberate’ or
24 ‘conscious’ choice by the municipality can the failure be properly thought of as an actionable
25 city ‘policy.’ ” City of Canton, 489 U.S. at 379. “A pattern of similar constitutional violations
26 by untrained employees is ‘ordinarily necessary’ to demonstrate deliberate indifference for
27 purposes of failure to train.” Connick v. Thompson, 563 U.S. 51, 62 (2011) (citation omitted).
1 policy or custom that caused the constitutional injury. Bd. of Cty. Comm’rs of Bryan Cty., Okl.,
2 520 U.S. at 403. If Plaintiff is attempting to bring claims against the police department, Plaintiff
3 has failed to state a plausible claim based on a custom or policy or failure to train.
4 E. Claims Relating to Failure to Investigate and Unlawful Warrant and Arrest
5 The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides:
6 The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,
7 shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon
probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly
8 describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be
seized.
9
10 U.S. Const., amend. IV.
11 Warrantless searches would violate the Fourth Amendment unless the search falls within
12 an exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement. See United States v. Ojeda, 276
13 F.3d 486, 488 (9th Cir. 2002) (citing Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 357 (1967)). “A claim
14 for unlawful arrest is cognizable under § 1983 as a violation of the Fourth Amendment, provided
15 the arrest was made without probable cause or other justification.” Dubner v. City & Cty. of San
16 Francisco, 266 F.3d 959, 964 (9th Cir. 2001). “Probable cause to arrest exists when officers
17 have knowledge or reasonably trustworthy information sufficient to lead a person of reasonable
18 caution to believe that an offense has been or is being committed by the person being arrested.”
19 United States v. Lopez, 482 F.3d 1067, 1072 (9th Cir. 2007). “While conclusive evidence of
20 guilt is of course not necessary under this standard to establish probable cause, [m]ere suspicion,
21 common rumor, or even strong reason to suspect are not enough.” Id. (internal quotations and
22 citation omitted) (alteration in original).
23 Plaintiff has not provided facts to support a claim of unlawful search or unlawful arrest
24 against any Defendant. First, Plaintiff would fail to state a claim for unlawful arrest because he
25 specifically states he was arrested by a bounty officer, not named as a Defendant, pursuant to a
26 warrant. “The Fourth Amendment requires law enforcement officers to have probable cause to
27 make an arrest if they do not have an arrest warrant.” Braden v. Los Angeles Police Dep’t, No.
1 U.S. 89, 91 (1964)); see also Blankenhorn v. City of Orange, 485 F.3d 463, 476 (9th Cir. 2007)
2 (Stating it was “clearly established long ago that an officer may not conduct a warrantless arrest
3 absent probable cause.”).
4 While Plaintiff did not directly name a judge in the complaint, to the extent Plaintiff
5 alleges the warrant was not based on probable cause, or was improperly issued because of an
6 incorrect social security number,3 Plaintiff is advised that judges are immune from liability under
7 § 1983 when they are functioning in their official capacities under proper jurisdiction. See
8 Imbler v. Pactman, 424 U.S. 409, 427 (1976); see also Olsen v. Idaho State Bd. of Medicine, 363
9 F.3d 916, 922 (9th Cir.2004) (“Absolute immunity is generally accorded to judges and
10 prosecutors functioning in their official capacities”); Ashelman v. Pope, 793 F.2d 1072, 1075-77
11 (9th Cir.1986) (noting that judges are generally immune from § 1983 claims except when acting
12 in “clear absence of all jurisdiction . . . or performs an act that is not ‘judicial’ in nature,” and
13 prosecutors are generally immune unless acting without “authority”) (internal citations omitted);
14 Walters v. Mason, No. 215CV0822KJMCMKP, 2017 WL 6344319, at *2 (E.D. Cal. Dec. 12,
15 2017) (same); Forte v. Merced Cty., No. 1:15-CV-0147 KJM-BAM, 2016 WL 159217, at *12–
16 13 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 13, 2016) (“prosecutorial immunity protects eligible government officials
17 when they are acting pursuant to their official role as advocate for the state”), report and
18 recommendation adopted, No. 1:15-CV-0147-KJM-BAM, 2016 WL 739798 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 25,
19 2016); Torres v. Saba, No. 16-CV-06607-SI, 2017 WL 86020, at *3–4 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 10, 2017).
20 Where a prosecutor acts within his authority “ ‘in initiating a prosecution and in presenting the
21 state’s case,’ absolute immunity applies.” Ashelman, 793 F.2d at 1076 (quoting Imbler, 424
22 U.S. at 431). This immunity extends to actions during both the pre-trial and posttrial phases of a
23 case. See Demery v. Kupperman, 735 F.2d 1139, 1144 (9th Cir. 1984).
24 Further, as the Court found above, Plaintiff’s bare factual allegations against the
25 Defendant officers do not satisfy the requirements of Rule 8. The facts presented do not give rise
26 to a claim for falsification of police records, nor for false arrest or false imprisonment based on
27 3 While Plaintiff claims the social security number was off by one number, Plaintiff does not claim that he was not
meant or understand to be the proper subject or target of the warrant for the alleged crime, despite his claims that the
1 such bare allegation of a failure to properly investigate.
2 Individuals have a constitutional due process right “not to be subjected to criminal
3 charges on the basis of false evidence that was deliberately fabricated by the government.”
4 Devereaux v. Abbey, 263 F.3d 1070, 1074-75 (9th Cir. 2001) (en banc). To establish such a due
5 process violation, a plaintiff must, at a minimum, allege either: (1) that government officials
6 continued their investigation “despite the fact that they knew or should have known that
7 [Plaintiff] was innocent;” or (2) “used investigative techniques that were so coercive and abusive
8 that [they] knew or should have known those techniques would yield false information.”
9 Cunningham v. Perez, 345 F.3d 802, 811 (9th Cir. 2003) (quoting Devereaux, 263 F.3d at 1076).
10 Other than generally stating that police officers believed another witness over Plaintiff
11 when investigating an incident, Plaintiff fails to indicate in any specific detail how any officer
12 mishandled any witness, or any specific evidence in a manner that demonstrates intentional
13 falsification of any record or evidence. Plaintiff’s bare conclusory allegations are not sufficient
14 to establish a claim, and do not satisfy the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 as
15 the Court found above.
16 F. Equal Protection Claim
17 Plaintiff claims Defendants Bailey and Blanchard failed to investigate the incident and
18 accepted the victim’s version of events “due to racial bias against me.” (Compl. 3.)
19 There are two ways for a plaintiff to state an equal protection claim. A plaintiff can state
20 a claim for violation of the Equal Protection Clause, by showing “that the defendant acted with
21 an intent or purpose to discriminate against him based upon his membership in a protected
22 class.” Serrano v. Francis, 345 F.3d 1071, 1082 (9th Cir. 2003). Intentional in this context
23 means that the defendant acted, at least in part, because of the plaintiff’s membership in a
24 protected class. Serrano, 345 F.3d at 1082. Alternately, the plaintiff can state a claim by
25 alleging that he was intentionally treated differently than similarly situated individuals and there
26 was no rational basis for the difference in treatment. Thornton v. City of St. Helens, 425 F.3d
27 1158, 1167 (2005); Village of Willowbrook v. Olech, 528 U.S. 562, 564 (2000).
1 the Court finds that Plaintiff’s “[t]hreadbare recital[]” “supported by [a] mere conclusory
2 statement[],” of racial bias is insufficient to state a claim for an equal protection violation. See
3 Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (citation omitted).
4 G. Official Capacity Suits
5 Plaintiff sues the officers in their official capacities. “The Eleventh Amendment bars suits
6 for money damages in federal court against a state, its agencies, and state officials acting in their
7 official capacities.” Aholelei v. Dept. of Public Safety, 488 F.3d 1144, 1147 (9th Cir. 2007). The
8 Eleventh Amendment does not bar claims for prospective injunctive relief against an officer of the
9 state who acts in his official capacity. Flint v. Dennison, 488 F.3d 816, 825 (9th Cir. 2007);
10 Cerrato v. San Francisco Cmty. Coll. Dist., 26 F.3d 968, 973 (9th Cir. 1994).
11 A suit brought against government officials in their official capacity is generally equivalent
12 to a suit against the government itself. McRorie v. Shimoda, 795 F.2d 780, 783 (9th Cir. 1986).
13 Therefore, officials may be held liable if “‘policy or custom’ . . . played a part in the violation of
14 federal law.” McRorie, 795 F.2d at 783 (quoting Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 166 (1985);
15 Hafer v. Melo, 502 U.S. 21, 25 (1991). The official may be liable where the act or failure to
16 respond reflects a conscious or deliberate choice to follow a course of action when various
17 alternatives were available. Clement v. Gomez, 298 F.3d 898, 905 (9th Cir. 2002) (quoting City of
18 Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378, 389 (1989).
19 H. Insufficient Legal Assistance
20 Plaintiff claims he was not afforded the right to competent legal assistance. The police
21 department and police officers have no duty or obligation to provide Plaintiff with legal assistance
22 or legal counsel. Plaintiff has made no claim or presented facts pertaining to a defendant that
23 refused to provide legal counsel or denied a request for the appointment of a public defender.
24 Accordingly, Plaintiff has not stated any cognizable claim to his accusation that he was not
25 provided with competent legal assistance.
26 I. The 911 Call
27 Plaintiff avers to an allegation that the 911 officer that answered the original call refused
1 agency’s failure to protect an individual from a harm inflicted by a person not acting under color
2 of law will not give rise to liability under section 1983. Shanks v. Dressel, 540 F.3d 1082, 1087
3 (9th Cir. 2008). Plaintiff has insufficiently pled any facts that would support a claim for failure
4 to protect.
5 IV.
6 CONCLUSION AND ORDER
7 Plaintiff has failed to state a cognizable claim for a violation of his federal rights in this
8 action. Plaintiff shall be granted leave to file an amended complaint to cure the deficiencies
9 identified in this order. See Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1127.
10 Plaintiff’s amended complaint should be brief, Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a), but it must state what
11 each named defendant did that led to the deprivation of Plaintiff’s constitutional rights, Iqbal,
12 556 U.S. at 678-79. Although accepted as true, the “[f]actual allegations must be [sufficient] to
13 raise a right to relief above the speculative level . . . .” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555 (citations
14 omitted). Further, Plaintiff may not change the nature of this suit by adding new, unrelated
15 claims in his amended complaint. George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 607 (7th Cir. 2007) (no
16 “buckshot” complaints).
17 Finally, Plaintiff is advised that an amended complaint supersedes the original complaint.
18 Lacey v. Maricopa Cnty., 693 F.3d 896, 927 (9th Cir. 2012). Therefore, Plaintiff’s amended
19 complaint must be “complete in itself without reference to the prior or superseded pleading.”
20 Local Rule 220.
21 / / /
22 / / /
23 / / /
24 / / /
25 / / /
26 / / /
27 / / /
1 Based on the foregoing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
2 1. The Clerk’s office shall send Plaintiff a complaint form;
3 2. Within thirty (30) days from the date of service of this order, Plaintiff shall file
4 an amended complaint;
5 3. Plaintiff's amended complaint shall not exceed twenty-five (25) pages in length
6 and must be double spaced using font similar to the instant order; and
7 4. If Plaintiff fails to file a first amended complaint in compliance with this order,
8 the Court will recommend to the district judge that this action be dismissed, with
9 prejudice, for failure to obey a court order, failure to prosecute, and for failure to
10 state a claim.
11
Db IT IS SO ORDERED. DAM Le
13 | Dated: _February 10, 2022 _ ef
14 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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