Benjamin Crocker v. County of Amador, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedJune 1, 2026
Docket2:26-cv-00691
StatusUnknown

This text of Benjamin Crocker v. County of Amador, et al. (Benjamin Crocker v. County of Amador, et al.) 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
Benjamin Crocker v. County of Amador, et al., (E.D. Cal. 2026).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 BENJAMIN CROCKER, No. 2:26-cv-00691-TLN-CKD (PS) 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER AND FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 14 COUNTY OF AMADOR, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff Benjamin Crocker proceeds pro se in this action which is referred to the 18 undersigned by Local Rule 302(c)(21) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b). Plaintiff has filed an 19 application in support of his request to proceed in forma pauperis which makes the showing 20 required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). (ECF No. 2.) The request will be granted. 21 I. SCREENING REQUIREMENT 22 Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e), the court must screen every in forma pauperis 23 proceeding, and must order dismissal of the case if it is “frivolous or malicious,” “fails to state a 24 claim on which relief may be granted,” or “seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is 25 immune from such relief.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B); Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1126-27 26 (2000). In performing this screening, the court liberally construes a pro se plaintiff’s pleadings. 27 See Eldridge v. Block, 832 F.2d 1132, 1137 (9th Cir. 1987) (citing Boag v. MacDougall, 454 U.S. 28 364, 365 (1982) (per curiam). 1 II. ALLEGATIONS IN THE COMPLAINT 2 The Complaint arises from an arrest taking place on October 29, 2025. (ECF No. 1 at ¶ 3 10.) Plaintiff alleges he was fishing at a river when he was arrested by “multiple” Amador County 4 Sheriff Deputies for an alleged nonviolent misdemeanor warrant from El Dorado County. Id. 5 Plaintiff alleges he was never shown the El Dorado County warrant, nor was he given the warrant 6 upon his release. Id. Plaintiff further alleges he suffers from a heart arrhythmia, and nearly lost 7 consciousness while being arrested. Id. at 11. Plaintiff claims an unnamed Sheriff’s Deputy 8 performed a sternum rub on him, which he alleges left a scar. Id. 9 On October 29, 2025, the Complaint alleges Plaintiff was released on bond, but that 10 Plaintiff was not taken immediately to a magistrate. Id. at ¶ 12. Plaintiff alleges further 11 irregularities resulting from his arrest, such as an inability to trace his case number on the El 12 Dorado County Superior Court website, receiving word from an El Dorado Deputy District 13 Attorney that there is no pending case against Plaintiff, and an inability to obtain the arrest 14 warrant. Id. ¶¶ 13-20. 15 The Complaint has a third section titled “BASIS FOR PRE-EXISTING CLAIM DATED 16 9/4/2025,” which makes allegations of police and judicial misconduct unrelated to Plaintiff’s 17 causes of action as described below. Id. ¶¶ A-C. 18 III. PLEADING STANDARDS 19 Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e), the court must screen every in forma pauperis 20 proceeding, and must order dismissal of the case if it is “frivolous or malicious,” “fails to state a 21 claim on which relief may be granted,” or “seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is 22 immune from such relief.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B); Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1126-27 23 (2000). A claim is legally frivolous when it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact. 24 Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989). In reviewing a complaint under this standard, the 25 court accepts as true the factual allegations contained in the complaint, unless they are clearly 26 baseless or fanciful, and construes those allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See 27 Neitzke, 490 U.S. at 327; Von Saher v. Norton Simon Museum of Art at Pasadena, 592 F.3d 954, 28 960 (9th Cir. 2010), cert. denied, 564 U.S. 1037 (2011). 1 Pro se pleadings are held to a less stringent standard than those drafted by lawyers. Haines 2 v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972). However, the court need not accept as true conclusory 3 allegations, unreasonable inferences, or unwarranted deductions of fact. Western Mining Council 4 v. Watt, 643 F.2d 618, 624 (9th Cir. 1981). A formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of 5 action does not suffice to state a claim. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-57 6 (2007); Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). 7 To state a claim on which relief may be granted, the plaintiff must allege enough facts “to 8 state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570. “A claim has facial 9 plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable 10 inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. A pro se 11 litigant is entitled to notice of the deficiencies in the complaint and an opportunity to amend 12 unless the complaint’s deficiencies could not be cured by amendment. See Noll v. Carlson, 809 13 F.2d 1446, 1448 (9th Cir. 1987), superseded on other grounds by statute as stated in Lopez v. 14 Smith, 203 F.3d 1122 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc). 15 IV. THE COMPLAINT FAILS TO STATE A CLAIM 16 The Complaint does not contain a short and plain statement of a claim as required by 17 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8. In order to give fair notice of the claims and the grounds on 18 which they rest, a plaintiff must allege with at least some degree of particularity overt acts by 19 specific defendants which support the claims. See Kimes v. Stone, 84 F.3d 1121, 1129 (9th Cir. 20 1996). To state a claim under the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege two 21 essential elements: (1) that a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States was 22 violated, and (2) that the alleged violation was committed by a person acting under the color of 23 state law. West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988). The Court considers below whether plaintiff has 24 alleged an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment to meet the essential elements for a 25 claim under the Civil Rights Act. Separately, the Court analyzes Plaintiff’s Bane Act and 26 California Tort Claims Act causes of action, Plaintiff’s claim for a violation of Article 1, Section 27 13 of the California Constitution, negligence, Monell liability, and battery. 28 / / / 1 a. Excessive Force under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 2 The Fourth Amendment protects the “right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, 3 papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” U.S. CONST. amend. IV.

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Bluebook (online)
Benjamin Crocker v. County of Amador, et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/benjamin-crocker-v-county-of-amador-et-al-caed-2026.