Opinion
No. 13 C 8138
11-15-2013
JOSEPH MATTHEW RICHMOND #M-18135, Plaintiff, v. WARDEN WILLIAM TERRY, Defendant.
MEMORANDUM ORDER
Joseph Matthew Richmond ("Richmond") has utilized the printed form of Complaint made available by our Clerk's Office for use by prisoners bringing actions under 42 U.S.C. §1983 ("Section 1983") to sue Warden William Terry. This memorandum order is issued sua sponte because nonlawyer Richmond's confusing narrative in Complaint ¶IV plainly does not state a Section 1983 claim--and if it did, Warden Terry would clearly be the wrong defendant.
Richmond's statement of claim charges that mistakes have been made by the state authorities in recording his sentencing date for a crime that he committed while on parole for an earlier case, mistakes that in turn led to an error in his scheduled discharge date. But such errors are violations of state criminal law, not of Richmond's federal constitutional rights--and it is only the latter that are cognizable under Section 1983.
Accordingly the Complaint and this action are dismissed for lack of federal subject matter jurisdiction. And although Richmond has not properly supported his accompanying Application To Proceed Without Prepayment of Fees (see 28 U.S.C. §1915), this Court is loath to burden him with the obligation for future installment payments of the $350 filing fee, hence it simply denies that Application as moot.
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Milton I. Shadur
Senior United States District Judge