Barnes v. Hanford Superior Court Judge

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedApril 3, 2020
Docket1:20-cv-00390
StatusUnknown

This text of Barnes v. Hanford Superior Court Judge (Barnes v. Hanford Superior Court Judge) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barnes v. Hanford Superior Court Judge, (E.D. Cal. 2020).

Opinion

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10

11 ANTOINE DESHAWN BARNES, Case No. 1:20-cv-00390-SAB (PC)

12 Plaintiff, SCREENING ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF LEAVE TO FILE FIRST 13 v. AMENDED COMPLAINT

14 HANFORD SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE, et (ECF No. 1) al., 15 THIRTY DAY DEADLINE Defendants. 16

17 18 Antoine Deshawn Barnes (“Plaintiff”) is appearing pro se and in forma pauperis in this 19 civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Currently before the Court is Plaintiff’s 20 complaint, filed on March 6, 2020. 21 I. 22 SCREENING REQUIREMENT 23 The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a 24 governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). 25 The Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims that are 26 legally “frivolous or malicious,” that “fail[] to state a claim on which relief may be granted,” or 27 that “seek[] monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). 1 A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the 2 pleader is entitled to relief. . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are not 3 required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere 4 conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell 5 Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). Moreover, Plaintiff must demonstrate 6 that each defendant personally participated in the deprivation of Plaintiff’s rights. Jones v. 7 Williams, 297 F.3d 930, 934 (9th Cir. 2002). 8 Prisoners proceeding pro se in civil rights actions are entitled to have their pleadings 9 liberally construed and to have any doubt resolved in their favor. Wilhelm v. Rotman, 680 F.3d 10 1113, 1121 (9th Cir. 2012) (citations omitted). To survive screening, Plaintiff’s claims must be 11 facially plausible, which requires sufficient factual detail to allow the Court to reasonably infer 12 that each named defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678-79; Moss 13 v. U.S. Secret Service, 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). The “sheer possibility that a defendant 14 has acted unlawfully” is not sufficient, and “facts that are ‘merely consistent with’ a defendant’s 15 liability” falls short of satisfying the plausibility standard. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678; Moss, 572 16 F.3d at 969. 17 II. 18 ALLEGATIONS IN COMPLAINT 19 The Court accepts Plaintiff’s allegations in the complaint as true only for the purpose of 20 the sua sponte screening requirement under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. Plaintiff is in the custody of the 21 Kings County Sheriff. It is unclear whether Plaintiff is a pretrial detainee, however in his most 22 recent motion to proceed in forma pauperis, Plaintiff states that he will be transferring to prison 23 soon. (ECF No. 9.) 24 Plaintiff brings this action against an unnamed Hanford Superior Court Judge and the 25 Kings County District Attorney Office. Plaintiff states that he was released from prison on July 26 18, 2019 and was free until he was taken back into custody on January 29, 2020 due to 27 allegations from an incident that occurred within prison three years ago. The state judge raised 1 that he appeared for all court appearances since July 18, 2019 and there was no outstanding 2 warrant for his arrest.1 3 On January 29, 2020, Plaintiff rode Amtrak from San Jose to Hanford Superior Court. 4 The judge remanded Plaintiff into custody at the Hanford County Jail. When remanding 5 Plaintiff, the judge stated “now try to get out, I’m raising your bail from $20,000 to $60,000 and 6 denying your O.R.” (Compl. at 7, ECF No. 1.) Plaintiff’s case is a non-violent case that 7 occurred three years ago while he was in prison. 8 Plaintiff contends that the “white nationalist judge” is abusing his power and he seeks to 9 have federal agents come and rescue him from the jail. He alleges that he has been physically 10 assaulted by deputies of the Kings County Sheriff’s Department and is being harassed and held 11 hostage in his cell. Plaintiff contends that he is being denied all law library documents and the 12 superior court denied his request on appeal. He seeks a change of venue and to be released as 13 soon as possible. Plaintiff alleges that “thru white nationalist hate crime abuse of power” he is 14 being denied release on his own recognizance when he twice appeared in court from the streets. 15 Plaintiff alleges violations of the Second, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments, and 16 his prosecution violates double jeopardy and is malicious prosecution. Plaintiff seeks one 17 million dollars; immediate release from custody; dismissal of Kings County Superior case no. 18 18-cm-5115 from the criminal records; and an order notifying KCRA3 news Melanie Hunter, 19 KTVU Channel 2 bay area news Rosemary Orozco, and attorney general Alan Romero to 20 investigate. For the reasons discussed below, Plaintiff has failed to state a cognizable claim. 21 Plaintiff shall be provided with the legal standards that apply to his claims and granted leave to 22 file an amended complaint. 23

24 1 Under the Federal Rules a court may take judicial notice of a fact that is “not subject to reasonable dispute in that it is either (1) generally known within the territorial jurisdiction of the trial court or (2) capable of accurate and ready 25 determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned.” Fed. R. Evid. 201(b). Judicial notice may be taken “of court filings and other matters of public record.” Reyn’s Pasta Bella, LLC v. Visa USA, Inc., 442 F.3d 741, 746 n.6 (9th Cir. 2006); Lee v. City of Los Angeles, 250 F.3d 668, 689 (9th Cir. 2001). The 26 Court takes judicial notice of the docket of the Kings County Superior Court showing that Plaintiff failed to appear on August 14, 2019 and a bench warrant issued. See Superior Court of California, County of Kings, Case 27 Information for 18CM-5115, The People of the State of Califonia v. Antoine D. Barnes, available at https://cakingsportal.tylerhost.net/CAKINGSPROD/Home/WorkspaceMode?p=0, search case no. 18cm5115 (last 1 III. 2 DISCUSSION 3 A. Section 1983 4 Section 1983 provides a cause of action for the violation of a plaintiff’s constitutional or 5 other federal rights by persons acting under color of state law. Nurre v. Whitehead, 580 F.3d 6 1087, 1092 (9th Cir 2009); Long v. County of Los Angeles, 442 F.3d 1178, 1185 (9th Cir. 2006); 7 Jones, 297 F.3d at 934. To state a claim under section 1983, a plaintiff is required to show that 8 (1) each defendant acted under color of state law and (2) each defendant deprived him of rights 9 secured by the Constitution or federal law. Long, 442 F.3d at 1185. There is no respondeat 10 superior liability under section 1983, and therefore, each defendant is only liable for his or her 11 own misconduct. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 677. To state a claim, Plaintiff must demonstrate that each 12 defendant personally participated in the deprivation of his rights. Jones, 297 F.3d at 934.

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Barnes v. Hanford Superior Court Judge, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barnes-v-hanford-superior-court-judge-caed-2020.