holding that to be properly considered a party, a defendant must be specified in the caption
How later courts described this case
- holding that to be properly considered a party, a defendant must be specified in the caption
- an action fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted if it does not plead “enough facts to state a claim that is plausible on its face.”
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
JOLLY JAY MITCHELL, #R47421, )
)
Plaintiff, )
vs. ) Case No. 20-cv-00790-MAB
)
OFFICER CRAWFORD, )
)
Defendant. )
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
BEATTY, Magistrate Judge:
Plaintiff Jolly Jay Mitchell, an inmate of the Illinois Department of Corrections,
filed this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for an alleged violation of the Eighth
Amendment that occurred while he was incarcerated at Lawrence Correctional Center.
He asserts a claim of excessive force and seeks monetary damages. (Doc. 1).
This case is now before the Court for preliminary review of the Complaint under
28 U.S.C. § 1915A, which requires the Court to screen prisoner Complaints to filter out
nonmeritorious claims. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a).1 Any portion of the Complaint that is
legally frivolous, malicious, fails to state a claim for relief, or requests money damages
from an immune defendant must be dismissed. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b).
THE COMPLAINT
Plaintiff makes the following allegations in his Complaint (Doc. 1): Correctional
1 The Court has jurisdiction to screen Plaintiff’s Complaint in light of his consent to the full jurisdiction of
a Magistrate Judge and the Illinois Department of Corrections’ limited consent to the exercise of Magistrate
Judge jurisdiction, as set forth in the Memorandum of Understanding between the Illinois Department of
Corrections and this Court.
Officer Crawford took Plaintiff out of his cell and told him he was going to yard. Instead,
Crawford took him to the middle shower and threw him on the floor. Crawford then hit
Plaintiff three times on the right side of his face causing serious injury.
Based on the allegations in the Complaint, the Court designates a single Count in
this pro se action:
Count 1: Eighth Amendment excessive force claim against Officer
Crawford for throwing Plaintiff to the floor and striking him
in the face multiple times.
The parties and the Court will use this designation in all future pleadings and orders,
unless otherwise directed by a judicial officer of this Court. Any other claim that is
mentioned in the Complaint but not addressed in this Order should be considered
dismissed without prejudice as inadequately pled under the Twombly pleading standard.2
See Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007) (an action fails to state a claim
upon which relief can be granted if it does not plead “enough facts to state a claim that is
plausible on its face.”).
DISCUSSION
The Eighth Amendment protects prisoners from being subjected to cruel and
unusual punishment. Brown v. Budz, 398 F.3d 904, 909 (7th Cir. 2005). “Correctional
officers violate the Eighth Amendment when they use force not in a good faith effort to
maintain or restore discipline, but maliciously and sadistically for the very purpose of
2 Plaintiff attached grievances as exhibits in which he complains about individuals who are not named as
defendants. Claims against any individuals not identified as defendants in the case caption are dismissed
without prejudice. Myles v. United States, 416 F.3d 551, 551–52 (7th Cir. 2005) (holding that to be properly
considered a party, a defendant must be specified in the caption).
causing harm.” Wilborn v. Ealey, 881 F.3d 998, 1006 (7th Cir. 2018) (internal citations and
quotation marks omitted). Plaintiff’s Complaint includes sufficient allegations to proceed
on the excessive force claim in Count 1 against Officer Crawford.
MOTION FOR RECRUITMENT OF COUNSEL
Civil litigants do not have a constitutional or statutory right to counsel. Pruitt v.
Mote, 503 F.3d 647, 649 (7th Cir. 2007). A district court considering an indigent plaintiff's
request for counsel must first consider whether the plaintiff has made reasonable
attempts to secure counsel on his own or been effectively precluded from doing so; and,
if so, whether the difficulty of the case factually and legally exceeds his capacity as a
layperson to present it. Id. at 654-655. The first prong of the analysis is a threshold
question. If a plaintiff has not made a reasonable attempt to obtain counsel on his own,
the court should deny the request. Id. at 655. If a plaintiff has not made a reasonable
attempt to obtain counsel on his own, the court should deny the request. Id. at 655.
Here, Plaintiff discloses no efforts to locate counsel on his own and, therefore, he
has not met his threshold burden. Therefore, after consideration of the Pruitt factors, the
Motion for Recruitment of Counsel (Doc. 12) is denied. Plaintiff may renew his request
for counsel at any time during the pending action, after first attempting to locate counsel
on his own. If Plaintiff does renew his request, he should attach rejection letters from at
least 3 attorneys to demonstrate that he has made reasonable efforts to obtain counsel on
his own.
DISPOSITION
Count 1 will proceed against Officer Crawford. The Clerk of Court shall prepare
for Officer Crawford: (1) Form 5 (Notice of a Lawsuit and Request to Waive Service of a
Summons), and (2) Form 6 (Waiver of Service of Summons). The Clerk is DIRECTED to
mail these forms, a copy of the Complaint, and this Memorandum and Order to
Defendant’s place of employment as identified by Plaintiff. If Defendant fails to sign and
return the Waiver of Service of Summons (Form 6) to the Clerk within 30 days from the
date the forms were sent, the Clerk shall take appropriate steps to effect formal service
on the Defendant, and the Court will require the Defendant to pay the full costs of formal
service, to the extent authorized by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
If Defendant cannot be found at the work address provided by Plaintiff, the
employer shall furnish the Clerk with the Defendant’s current work address, or, if not
known, the Defendant’s last-known address. This information shall be used only for
sending the forms as directed above or for formally effecting service. Any documentation
of the address shall be retained only by the Clerk and shall not be maintained in the court
file or disclosed by the Clerk.
Defendant is ORDERED to timely file an appropriate responsive pleading to the
Complaint and shall not waive filing a reply pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(g). Pursuant
to Administrative Order No. 244, Defendant need only respond to the issues stated in this
Merit Review Order.
The Motion for Recruitment of Counsel (Doc. 12) is DENIED.
Plaintiff is ADVISED that if judgment is rendered against him and the judgment
includes the payment of costs under 28 U.S.C. §1915, he will be required to pay the full
amount of the costs, regardless of whether his application to proceed in forma pauperis is
granted. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(f)(2)(A).
Plaintiff is further ADVISED that he is under a continuing obligation to keep the
Clerk of Court and the opposing party informed of any change in his address; the Court
will not independently investigate his whereabouts. This shall be done in writing and not
later than 7 days after a transfer or other change in address occurs. Failure to comply with
this order will cause a delay in the transmission of court documents and may result in
dismissal of this action for want of prosecution. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: October 6, 2020
/s/ Mark A. Beatty
MARK A. BEATTY
United States Magistrate Judge
Notice to Plaintiff
The Court will take the necessary steps to notify the Defendant of your lawsuit
and serve him with a copy of your Complaint. After service has been achieved, Defendant
will enter an appearance and file an Answer to your Complaint. It will likely take at least
60 days from the date of this Order to receive the Defendant’s Answer, but it is entirely
possible that it will take 90 days or more. When Defendant has filed his Answer, the Court
will enter a Scheduling Order containing important information on deadlines, discovery,
and procedures. Plaintiff is advised to wait until counsel has appeared for Defendant
before filing any motions, to give the Defendant notice and an opportunity to respond to
those motions. Motions filed before Defendant’s counsel has filed an appearance will
generally be denied as premature. Plaintiff need not submit any evidence to the Court at
this time, unless specifically directed to do so.