Bundy v. Sessions

387 F. Supp. 3d 121
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedJune 10, 2019
DocketCase No. 1:18-cv-02520 (TNM)
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 387 F. Supp. 3d 121 (Bundy v. Sessions) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bundy v. Sessions, 387 F. Supp. 3d 121 (D.C. Cir. 2019).

Opinion

Thus, the Court will dismiss Counts One and Four3 as untimely.

B.

Mr. Bundy brings three claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 : an excessive force claim, a retaliation claim, and a malicious prosecution claim. See generally Compl. at 16-20. The Senior Officials argue that these counts should be dismissed because *127Section 1983 is inapplicable to federal officers. Defs.' Mem. at 7.

" Section 1983 does not apply to federal officials acting under color of federal law." Settles v. U.S. Parole Comm'n , 429 F.3d 1098, 1104 (D.C. Cir. 2005). But the issue here is federal versus state law, not federal versus state actor. "The traditional definition of acting under color of state law requires that the defendant in a Section 1983 action have exercised power 'possessed by virtue of state law and made possible only because the wrongdoer is clothed with the authority of state law.' " West v. Atkins , 487 U.S. 42, 49, 108 S.Ct. 2250, 101 L.Ed.2d 40 (1988).

There is no claim that the Senior Officials possessed authority through the laws of Nevada or that they were somehow "clothed with the authority of" Nevada law despite their employment by the United States. Rather, the Complaint alleges only that these Senior Officials were acting under the color of federal law. At all times, they were "clothed with the authority" of federal, not state, law. West , 487 U.S. at 49, 108 S.Ct. 2250.

Mr. Bundy accuses the Senior Officials of directing state officers to arrest him and federal prosecutors to prosecute him for improper reasons. See generally Compl. at 18-20. But these allegations are based only on a federal prosecution. Mr. Bundy does not explain how the Senior Officials could act under the color of state law in bringing a federal prosecution. In fact, the D.C. Circuit has made clear that Section 1983 "does not apply to officials acting under color of federal law, such as a federal prosecutor acting within the scope of her duties. " Jones v. Horne , 634 F.3d 588, 594 n.2 (D.C. Cir. 2011) (emphasis added).

In response, Mr. Bundy claims that he is suing the Senior Officials as co-conspirators with state officers under Section 1983. Pl.'s Mem. at 4-5. He argues that because the Complaint avers that the Senior Officials "acting in concert, directed and ordered local Nevada state officials," he has alleged that the Senior Officials themselves were "acting under the color of state law." Id. at 4. But he has it exactly backwards. In his telling, the Senior Officials used their federal authority to order state officers to execute their plans. So perhaps one could argue that the state officers acted under the color of federal law during the standoff. But nowhere does he allege that the Senior Officials had or used any authority granted by Nevada law. Nor would it be plausible to so allege.

A Section 1983 action requires that a defendant exercise power "made possible only because the wrongdoer is clothed with the authority of state law." West , 487 U.S. at 49, 108 S.Ct. 2250. That is not the allegation here. So the Court will dismiss Counts Five and Six, and this reasoning is an alternative ground for dismissing Count Four as well.

C.

The Senior Officials urge the Court to dismiss all claims against Attorneys General Sessions, Lynch, and Holder based on absolute prosecutorial immunity. Defs.' Mem. at 9-11. In response, Mr. Bundy argues that absolute immunity should not apply because the Complaint alleges that the Attorneys General prosecuted him without probable cause and knowingly relied on false allegations. Pl.'s Mem. at 7.4 Mr. Bundy does not argue that *128he is challenging administrative or investigative conduct by the Attorneys General. Cf. Burns v. Reed , 500 U.S. 478, 494, 111 S.Ct. 1934, 114 L.Ed.2d 547 (1991) (explaining that absolute immunity does not extend to "every litigation-inducing conduct"). He challenges only the decision to prosecute.

Federal prosecutors enjoy absolute immunity for "initiating a prosecution" and "presenting the [government's] case." Imbler v. Pachtman , 424 U.S. 409, 431, 96 S.Ct. 984, 47 L.Ed.2d 128 (1976). This immunity extends to activities "intimately associated with the judicial phase of the criminal process." Id. at 430-31, 96 S.Ct. 984 ; see also Buckley v. Fitzsimmons , 509 U.S. 259, 270-71, 113 S.Ct. 2606

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Bluebook (online)
387 F. Supp. 3d 121, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bundy-v-sessions-cadc-2019.