Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 6:15-CV-1816
09-28-2016
WALLACE JONES v. STATE OF LOUISIANA, ET AL.
MAGISTRATE JUDGE WHITEHURST MEMORANDUM RULING
Currently pending before the Court is a motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) [Doc. 30] filed by defendant, the Honorable Herman Clause, retired judge of the Fifteenth Judicial District Court for the State of Louisiana. Pursuant to the motion, defendant seeks dismissal of all claims brought against him, arguing: (1) the claims have prescribed, (2) plaintiff's claims are barred by the doctrine of judicial immunity, and (3) plaintiff's claims are barred by the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. The motion is unopposed.
Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co., 263 U.S. 413 (1923); District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462 (1983).
See LR 7.5 --------
The doctrine of judicial immunity protects ajudge from suit for damages arising from judicial actions taken, unless such actions were taken in the complete absence of all jurisdiction. Mireles v. Waco, 502 U.S. 9, 11-12 (1991). As the actions complained of were taken in defendant's capacity as a judge, and there is no suggestion Judge Clause lacked jurisdiction over the underlying custody proceedings, the doctrine of judicial immunity bars plaintiff's claims against Judge Clause. For these reasons, the motion to dismiss [Doc. 30] is GRANTED, and plaintiff's claims against Judge Herman Clause are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.
THUS DONE AND SIGNED in Lafayette, Louisiana, this 28 day of September, 2016.
/s/_________
REBECCA F. DOHERTY
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE