Opinion
No. CIV 05-1508-PHX-SMM (JCG).
November 22, 2005
ORDER
On May 20, 2005, Plaintiff Shawn Barnett, presently confined in the Arizona State Prison Complex-Tucson, filed a Civil Rights Complaint by a Prisoner ("Complaint") pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and an Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis ("Application to Proceed"). The Court denied Plaintiff's Application to Proceed with leave refile on June 10, 2005 (Doc. #3). Plaintiff filed a new, certified Application to Proceed on June 24, 2005 (Doc. #5).
Plaintiff was confined in the Maricopa County Towers Jail at the time he filed the Complaint.
This is one of more than one thousand (1,000) civil rights actions filed since September 2004 by Maricopa County Jail inmates. Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis
Many inmates apparently believe that they will receive an immediate payout from a fund established in Hart v. Hill, No. CV 77-0479-PHX-EHC (MS) (D. Ariz.). No such fund exists. The inmates in Hart asked for injunctive relief and not monetary damages. The Court at this time expresses no opinion on whether Plaintiff's lawsuit may result in an award of damages.
Plaintiff's June 24, 2005 Application to Proceed (Doc. #5) and account statement make the showing required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). Accordingly, Plaintiff's Application to Proceed will be granted.
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1), Plaintiff is required to pay the two hundred fifty dollar ($250.00) statutory filing fee for this action. Plaintiff will be assessed an initial partial filing fee of two dollars and sixty-six cents ($2.66). 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1).
By separate order, the Court will direct the appropriate agency to collect the initial partial filing fee from Plaintiff's trust account and forward it to the Clerk of the Court. Thereafter, Plaintiff will be obligated for monthly payments of twenty percent (20%) of the preceding month's income credited to Plaintiff's trust account. These payments will be forwarded by the appropriate agency to the Clerk of the Court each time the amount in Plaintiff's account exceeds ten dollars ($10.00), until the filing fee is paid in full. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2).
Plaintiff should note that if he is released before the filing fee is paid in full, he must pay the remaining unpaid amount of the filing fee within one hundred twenty (120) days of the date of his release. If Plaintiff fails to pay the remainder of the filing fee within one hundred twenty (120) days of the date of his release, the action will be dismissed, unless Plaintiff shows good cause, in writing, why he is unable to pay the remainder of the filing fee.
Plaintiff should further note that a prisoner may not bring a civil action without complete prepayment of the appropriate filing fee if the prisoner has brought, on three (3) or more occasions, an action or appeal in a federal court that was dismissed as frivolous, as malicious, or for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, unless the prisoner is in imminent danger of serious physical injury. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
Statutory Screening of Prisoner Complaints
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 Plaintiff 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)(1), (2). The Court also must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if Plaintiff fails to exhaust any administrative remedy available to him. 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a).
If the Court determines that a pleading could be cured by the allegation of other facts, a pro se litigant is entitled to an opportunity to amend the complaint before dismissal of the action. See Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1127-29 (9th Cir. 2000) ( en banc). The Court is required to grant leave to amend "if a complaint can possibly be saved," but not if the Complaint "lacks merit entirely." Id. at 1129. A court therefore should grant leave to amend if the pleading could be cured by the allegation of other facts, or if it appears at all possible that the defect can be corrected. Id. at 1130.
The Court should not, however, advise the litigant how to cure the defects. This type of advice "would undermine the district judges' role as impartial decisionmakers." Pliler v. Ford, 124 S.Ct. 2441, 2446 (2004); see also Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1131, n. 13 (declining to decide whether court was required to inform litigant of deficiencies). Plaintiff's Complaint will be dismissed with leave to amend because the Complaint may possibly be saved by amendment.
Complaint
Maricopa County Sheriff Joseph M. Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office are named as Defendants to the Complaint. Plaintiff alleges three grounds for relief in the Complaint: 1) there were insufficient bathroom facilities relative to the number of inmates housed in the Jail; 2) Plaintiff's safety and health were threatened by overcrowded conditions; and 3) inmates received insufficient outdoor recreation. Plaintiff seeks money damages. Improper Defendant
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office is not a proper Defendant. In Arizona, the responsibility of operating jails and caring for prisoners is placed by law upon the sheriff. See A.R.S. § 11-441(A)(5); A.R.S. § 31-101. A sheriff's office is simply an administrative creation of the county sheriff to allow him to carry out his statutory duties, and not a "person" amenable to suit pursuant to § 1983. Therefore, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office will be dismissed.
Failure to Link Injuries to Defendant
Plaintiff must allege an affirmative link between his alleged injuries and the conduct of a Defendant. Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362, 371-72, 377 (1976). To state a claim against an official, the civil rights complainant must allege that the official personally participated in the constitutional deprivation, or that an official was aware of widespread abuses, and with deliberate indifference to the inmate's constitutional rights, failed to take action to prevent further misconduct.King v. Atiyeh, 814 F.2d 565, 568 (9th Cir. 1987); See Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 691 (1978); Williams v. Cash, 836 F.2d 1318, 1320 (11th Cir. 1988). There is no respondeat superior liability under § 1983, and therefore, a defendant's position as the supervisor of persons who allegedly violated Plaintiff's constitutional rights does not impose liability. Monell, 436 U.S. at 691; West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 54 n. 12 (1988); Ybarra v. Reno Thunderbird Mobile Home Village, 723 F.2d 675, 680-81 (9th Cir. 1984).
Plaintiff does not allege that Defendant Arpaio personally participated in the deprivation of Plaintiff's constitutional rights nor does he allege that Defendant was aware of widespread abuses and failed to act.
Failure to State a Claim
The deficiencies in Plaintiff's Complaint go beyond his failure to name a proper defendant or link his injuries with a named defendant. In order to state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Plaintiff must show that the conduct of the Defendants deprived him of a constitutional right. Haygood v. Younger, 769 F.2d 1350, 1354 (9th Cir. 1985) (en banc), cert. denied, 478 U.S. 1020 (1986). Plaintiff has failed to allege the violation of a constitutional right.
Specifically, Plaintiff has failed to the allege that the conditions in the Jail created the "wanton and unnecessary infliction of pain" as required to state a Fourteenth and Eighth Amendment conditions of confinement claim. Rhodes v. Chapman, 452 U.S. 337, 347 (1981). The inquiry with respect to pretrial detainees is whether the prison conditions amount to "punishment" without due process in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 535 (1979). Generally, a prison's "obligation under the [E]ighth [A]mendment is at an end if it furnishes sentenced prisoners with adequate food, clothing, shelter, sanitation, medical care, and personal safety."Hoptowit v. Ray, 682 F.2d 1237, 1246 (9th Cir. 1982) (quotations omitted). However, this does not mean that federal courts can or should interfere whenever prisoners are inconvenienced or suffer de minimis injuries. See Bell, 441 U.S. at 539 n. 21 (noting that a de minimis level of imposition does not rise to a constitutional violation).
Dismissal with Leave to Amend
Although pro se pleadings are liberally construed, Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519 (1972), conclusory and vague allegations will not support a cause of action. Ivey v. Board of Regents of the University of Alaska, 673 F.2d 266 (9th Cir. 1982); Rhodes v. Robinson, 612 F.2d 766, 772 (3d Cir. 1979). Further, a liberal interpretation of a civil rights complaint may not supply essential elements of the claim that were not initially pled.Ivey, 673 F.2d at 268.
Because Plaintiff has failed to affirmatively link his alleged injuries with the conduct of a named Defendant, and has failed to allege a constitutional violation, the Complaint will be dismissed without prejudice. However, in keeping with "the rule favoring liberality in amendments to pleadings," the Court will exercise its discretion and allow Plaintiff to file an amended complaint, if he so desires, to show what constitutional rights he has been deprived of, and how the conduct of proper defendants deprived him of said rights. Noll v. Carlson, 809 F.2d 1446, 1448 (9th Cir. 1987).
If Plaintiff chooses to file an amended complaint, he should note that all causes of action alleged in an original Complaint which are not alleged in an amended complaint are waived. See Hal Roach Studios v. Richard Feiner Co., 896 F.2d 1542, 1546 (9th Cir. 1990) ("an amended pleading supersedes the original").
Any amended complaint filed by Plaintiff must be retyped or rewritten in its entirety on the current, Court-approved form included with this Order and may not incorporate any part of the original Complaint by reference. See Local Rule of Civil Procedure ("LRCiv") 15.1(a)(2). If Plaintiff cannot fit all of his supporting facts in favor of a particular count on the Court-approved form, then he may continue on an attachment, but each matter on any attachment must be clearly referenced to a particular count on the Court-approved form, and be numbered appropriately.
Rule 41(b) Warning
If Plaintiff fails to timely comply with every provision of this Order, this action will be dismissed without further notice.See Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258, 1260-61 (9th Cir. 1992) (stating a district court may dismiss action for failure to comply with any order of the court). Moreover, because the Complaint has been dismissed for failure to state a claim, if Plaintiff fails to file an amended complaint correcting the deficiencies identified in this Order, the dismissal of this action will count as a "strike" under the "three strikes" provision of the Prison Litigation Reform Act. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED as follows:
(1) Plaintiff's June 24, 2005 Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Doc. #5) is GRANTED;
(2) Plaintiff is OBLIGATED to pay the statutory filing fee of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) for this action. Plaintiff is assessed an initial partial filing fee of two dollars and sixty-six cents ($2.66). All fees shall be collected and paid in accordance with this Court's Order to the appropriate government agency filed concurrently herewith;
(3) Plaintiff's "Civil Rights Complaint By A Prisoner" (Document #1) ("Complaint") pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE, WITH LEAVE TO AMEND. Plaintiff SHALL HAVE thirty (30) days from the filing date of this Order to file an amended complaint in order to state specific allegations of deprivation of constitutional rights against proper defendant(s), to name as defendant(s) the individual(s) who participated in the activities alleged in his amended complaint, to state what injury he has suffered as a result of the activities of the defendant(s), and to show how, prior to filing this action, he exhausted his administrative remedies as to each of his claims for relief. The amended complaint must be retyped or rewritten in its entirety on the current, Court-approved form included with this Order, may not incorporate any part of the original Complaint by reference, and must contain Plaintiff's original signature. If Plaintiff fails to file the amended complaint on a current, Court-approved form, the amended complaint will be stricken, and the action dismissed without further notice to Plaintiff. Any amended complaint submitted by Plaintiff should be clearly designated as an amended complaint on the face of the document;
(4) The Clerk of Court shall enter a judgment of dismissal of this action with prejudice and without further notice to Plaintiff, if Plaintiff fails to file an amended complaint within thirty (30) days of the date this Order is filed. Upon entry of judgment, the Clerk shall make an entry on the docket in this matter indicating that the dismissal of this action falls within the purview of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g);
(5) A clear, legible copy of every pleading or other document filed SHALL ACCOMPANY each original pleading or other document filed with the Clerk for use by the District Judge or Magistrate Judge to whom the case is assigned. See LRCiv 5.4. Failure to submit a copy along with the original pleading or document will result in the pleading or document being stricken without further notice to Plaintiff;
(6) At all times during the pendency of this action, Plaintiff SHALL IMMEDIATELY ADVISE the Court and the United States Marshal of any change of address and its effective date. Such notice shall be captioned "NOTICE OF CHANGE OF ADDRESS." The notice shall contain only information pertaining to the change of address and its effective date, except that if Plaintiff has been released from custody, the notice should so indicate. The notice shall not include any motions for any other relief. Failure to file a NOTICE OF CHANGE OF ADDRESS may result in the dismissal of the action for failure to prosecute pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b); and
(7) The Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to provide Plaintiff with a current, Court-approved form for filing a civil rights complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
FORM