Opinion
Case: 1:16-cv-00610
03-30-2016
Derek Knorr, Plaintiff, v. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission., Defendant.
Assigned To : Unassigned
Assign. Date : 4/1/2016
Description: Pro Se Gen. Civil ( F Deck)
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, seeks "mandamus" against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), Compl. at 1, but he later states that "this case is not about [his] needing to force Defendant into a cause of action [because] Defendant has already performed the action," id. at 4. Plaintiff alleges that he submitted a whistleblower complaint to the SEC, which in turn imposed more than $1 million in sanctions against an entity based on his complaint. According to plaintiff, however, defendant told him " 'We didn't use your whistleblower claim.' " Id. Thus, plaintiff contends, "this case is about what powers the Court has, short of a time consuming Civil Trail [sic], to compel a Federal Department to make record of accountability concerning their own actions." Id. The answer is none based on plaintiff's tenuous allegations.
Pro se litigants must comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Jarrell v. Tisch, 656 F. Supp. 237, 239 (D.D.C. 1987). Rule 8(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires complaints to contain "(1) a short and plain statement of the grounds for the court's jurisdiction [and] (2) a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a); see Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678-79 (2009); Ciralsky v. CIA, 355 F.3d 661, 668-71 (D.C. Cir. 2004). Plaintiff has not satisfied that pleading standard.
Furthermore, the United States Attorney General has absolute discretion in deciding whether to investigate claims for possible criminal or civil prosecution. As a general rule applicable here, such decisions are not subject to judicial review. Shoshone-Bannock Tribes v. Reno, 56 F.3d 1476, 1480-81 (D.C. Cir. 1995); see Wightman-Cervantes v. Mueller, 750 F. Supp. 2d 76, 80 (D.D.C. 2010) ("[A]n agency's decision whether to prosecute, investigate, or enforce has been recognized as purely discretionary and not subject to judicial review.") (citing Block v. SEC, 50 F.3d 1078, 1081-82 (D.C. Cir. 1995)) (other citation omitted). See also 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) (requiring dismissal of a case upon a determination that the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted). A separate order of dismissal accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.
/s/_________
United States District Judge Date: March 30, 2016