Alberto-Toledo v. Pulver

District Court, D. Oregon·Decided July 15, 2021·No. 3:20-cv-01557·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF OREGON

URIEL ALBERTO-TOLEDO, Case No. 3:20-cv-01557-MC

Plaintiff, OPINION AND ORDER

v.

WASHINGTON COUNTY; PAT GARRETT; CAPRICE MASSEY,

Defendants. _______________________________

MCSHANE, District Judge.

Plaintiff, a pretrial detainee appearing pro se, filed suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that Washington County officials violated his federal constitutional rights by unlawfully detaining him pursuant to a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) administrative hold. Before the Court are defendants’ Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim, plaintiff’s Motion for Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), and plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to Amend Complaint. Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss and plaintiff’s Motion for TRO are DENIED, and plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to Amend is GRANTED, in part. BACKGROUND The following facts are taken from plaintiff’s Amended Complaint (ECF No. 9) and its incorporated documents. On June 6, 2019, plaintiff was arrested on state law charges in Washington County and booked into the Washington County Jail. The next day, plaintiff posted bail and was released

from state custody pending trial. On January 8, 2020, plaintiff was arrested and taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals on a federal charge of Illegal Reentry. Plaintiff maintains that his defense attorney informed Deputy District Attorney (DDA) Pulver, the prosecutor in his Washington County case, of plaintiff’s arrest by federal authorities and his detention at the Multnomah County Jail on the federal charge. On March 13, 2020, DDA Pulver filed a motion to show cause why plaintiff’s bail and pretrial release should not be revoked in his Washington County case for failure to notify the state court of his new address, i.e., the Multnomah County Jail.

On March 16, 2020, the state court revoked plaintiff’s bail and issued a warrant for his arrest. The court also imposed a new bail amount of $250,000. On March 27, 2020, plaintiff pled guilty to the charge of Illegal Reentry in federal court and was sentenced to time served. Plaintiff contends that he was no longer in federal custody at that time, because ICE had not issued “a detainer or any other document seeking to take Plaintiff into custody.” Am. Compl. ¶ 32. Plaintiff claims that he remained in custody at the Multnomah County Jail solely because of the arrest warrant and hold from Washington County on his state court charges. Also on March 27, 2020, DDA Pulver filed a Motion for Transport Order in state court. The proposed Transport Order stated that plaintiff was “presently” in ICE custody and ordered plaintiff’s release to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office for his arraignment on state court charges in Washington County. Am. Compl. ¶ 30. Dickens Decl. Ex. A (ECF No. 20-1). The Order further stated that plaintiff “shall be returned” to ICE custody after his arraignment. Id.

Plaintiff alleges that DDA Pulver knew ICE had issued no warrants or detainers against plaintiff at that time. On March 30, 2020, the state court issued the Transport Order and plaintiff was transported to the Washington County Jail. Washington County Jail officials eventually informed plaintiff that he had no “holds” and could post bail on his state court charges. On April 1, 2020, plaintiff posted bail a second time. Despite this, Washington County Jail officials would not release him. On March 31, 2020, Jail Commander Massey had lodged an ICE hold against plaintiff pursuant to the Transport Order. Plaintiff alleges that Commander Massey lodged the hold even though she knew ICE had not issued a detainer or warrant against

plaintiff. On April 2, 2020, plaintiff was transported to the Multnomah County Jail and taken into ICE custody. The same day, ICE issued a Form I-205 against plaintiff, which is a Warrant of Removal/Deportation. While in ICE custody, plaintiff missed an April 3, 2020 state court appearance in Washington County, and DDA Pulver requested that plaintiff’s bail be revoked due to his failure to appear. The state court revoked plaintiff’s bail and imposed a new bail amount of $5,000,000. Plaintiff contends that DDA Pulver orchestrated plaintiff’s absence at his state court hearing through issuance of the Transport Order and then misled the state court by falsely blaming plaintiff for his failure to appear. On April 8, 2020, plaintiff returned to state custody at the Washington County Jail and the ICE hold was again lodged against him. DDA Pulver, knowing plaintiff could not possibly appear in court on his own volition due to his custody status in another jurisdiction, requested

forfeiture of plaintiff’s bail. The state court judge placed plaintiff’s bail money in a trust account. Plaintiff grieved the issue of the ICE hold with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Chief Deputy Degman ultimately dismissed plaintiff’s grievance appeal, informing plaintiff that ICE must withdraw the hold before Washington County Jail could release him, even if plaintiff posted bail again on his state court charges. In September 2020, plaintiff filed this § 1983 action and alleged violations of his constitutional rights arising from the ICE hold. The Court advised plaintiff of several deficiencies in his claims and allowed him the opportunity to amend. In response to the Court’s Order, plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint and renewed his previous request for preliminary

injunctive relief. Construing plaintiff’s allegations liberally, I found that plaintiff sufficiently alleged Fourth Amendment claims for damages against Commander Massey and Washington County arising from his continued detention after he posted bail on April 1, 2020, and a claim for injunctive relief against Sheriff Garrett in his official capacity arising from the ICE hold currently lodged against him. Order at 4-5 (ECF No. 15). I further found that DDA Pulver was entitled to absolute immunity for actions related to plaintiff’s state court proceeding and dismissed the charges against him. Id. I also ordered defendants to respond to plaintiff’s Motion for TRO with respect to the current ICE hold against him. Defendants oppose plaintiff’s motion and move to dismiss his claims for failure to state a claim. In turn, plaintiff moves for leave to file a second amended complaint. DISCUSSION

A. Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim Defendants move for dismissal on grounds that plaintiff’s claims ultimately seek “federal court intervention to speed up his release from custody” and must be brought in a federal habeas action. Defs.’ Mot. to Dismiss at 2 (ECF No. 21). Defendants are correct that claims challenging the fact or duration of confinement usually “fall within the ‘core’ of habeas corpus” and must be brought in a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Nelson v. Campbell, 541 U.S. 637, 643 (2004). However, as construed by this Court, plaintiff’s Fourth Amendment claims do not challenge the state court charges underlying his current confinement in state custody.1 Rather, plaintiff’s claims for

damages seek compensation for the harm allegedly caused by the actions of Commander Massey and the policies of Washington County in extending his detention on April 1, 2020. Plaintiff’s claim for injunctive relief seeks an order enjoining the Washington County Jail from extending plaintiff’s detention pursuant to the ICE hold if he is otherwise entitled to release from custody. Moreover, plaintiff cannot bring a federal habeas action challenging the ICE hold.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Alberto-Toledo v. Pulver, (D. Or. 2021).

Alberto-Toledo v. Pulver (Alberto-Toledo v. Pulver) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Kalina v. Fletcher
522 U.S. 118 (Supreme Court, 1997)
Dickerson v. United States
530 U.S. 428 (Supreme Court, 2000)
Nelson v. Campbell
541 U.S. 637 (Supreme Court, 2004)
Illinois v. Caballes
543 U.S. 405 (Supreme Court, 2005)
Van de Kamp v. Goldstein
555 U.S. 335 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Arizona v. United States
132 S. Ct. 2492 (Supreme Court, 2012)
Jesse Engebretson v. Mike Mahoney
724 F.3d 1034 (Ninth Circuit, 2013)
Wilson v. Belleque
554 F.3d 816 (Ninth Circuit, 2009)
Hernandez v. Mesa
582 U.S. 548 (Supreme Court, 2017)
Ziglar v. Abbasi
582 U.S. 120 (Supreme Court, 2017)
Nelson v. Heiss
271 F.3d 891 (Ninth Circuit, 2001)
Lopez-Aguilar v. Marion Cnty. Sheriff's Dep't
296 F. Supp. 3d 959 (S.D. Indiana, 2017)