Opinion
Civil Action No. 7:17-cv-00195
06-01-2017
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Kevin Terry Dotson, a Virginia inmate proceeding pro se, filed a complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 naming the Pocahontas State Correctional Center as the sole defendant. I dismiss the complaint without prejudice as frivolous because Plaintiff pursues an indisputably meritless legal theory by naming the Pocahontas State Correctional Center as the defendant. See, e.g., Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 327 (1989); McCoy v. Chesapeake Corr. Ctr., 788 F. Supp. 890, 894 (E.D. Va. 1992) (reasoning jails are not appropriate defendants to § 1983 actions); see also Will v. Michigan Dep't of State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 70 (1989); Brownlee v. Williams, No. 2:07cv0078, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20650, 2007 WL 904800, at *2 (D.S.C. Mar. 22, 2007); Preval v. Reno, 57 F. Supp. 2d 307, 310 (E.D. Va. 1999) (reasoning jails are not "persons" for § 1983 litigation).
ENTER: This 1st day of June, 2017.
/s/_________
Senior United States District Judge