Casimir Griffin v. Orange County Courthouse Entirely; Orange County Staff; Orange County Jail Medical; All Known and Unknown 1-150; Orange County Jail; Orange County Probation Department; Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall; Restorative Management

District Court, S.D. New York·Decided June 8, 2026·No. 1:25-cv-06303·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK CASIMIR GRIFFIN, Plaintiff, -against- ORANGE COUNTY COURTHOUSE 25-CV-6303 (LTS) ENTIRELY; ORANGE COUNTY STAFF; ORANGE COUNTY JAIL MEDICAL; ALL ORDER OF DISMISSAL KNOWN AND UNKNOWN 1-150; ORANGE WITH LEAVE TO REPLEAD COUNTY JAIL; ORANGE COUNTY PROBATION DEPARTMENT; MONTEFIORE ST. LUKE’S CORNWALL; RESTORATIVE MANAGEMENT, Defendants. LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN, Chief United States District Judge: Plaintiff, who currently is incarcerated at the Orange County Jail, brings this action, pro se, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that Defendants violated his constitutional rights. By order dated December 16, 2025, the Court granted Plaintiff’s request to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”), that is, without prepayment of fees.1 For the following reasons, the Court dismisses the complaint with 30 days’ leave to replead. STANDARD OF REVIEW The Court must dismiss a complaint, or portion thereof, that is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(B), 1915A(b); see Abbas v. Dixon, 480 F.3d 636, 639 (2d Cir. 2007). The Court must also dismiss a complaint when the Court lacks

1 Prisoners are not exempt from paying the full filing fee even when they have been granted permission to proceed IFP. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). subject matter jurisdiction. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3). While the law mandates dismissal on any of these grounds, the Court is obliged to construe pro se pleadings liberally, Harris v. Mills, 572 F.3d 66, 72 (2d Cir. 2009), and interpret them to raise the “strongest [claims] that they suggest,” Triestman v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 470 F.3d 471, 474-75 (2d Cir. 2006) (internal

quotation marks and citations omitted). BACKGROUND Named as Defendants in this complaint, which is dated July 15, 2025, are: (1) the Orange County Courthouse; (2) Orange County Staff; (3) the Orange County Jail (“OCJ”) Medical Department; (4) “All Known And Unknown 1-150”; (5) OCJ; (6) the Orange County Probation Department; (7) Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall; and (8) Restorative Management. Plaintiff alleges that the events giving rise to this complaint occurred in “2000, 2001, 2010, 2019, 2021, 2025.” (ECF 1 at 5.) The following facts are drawn from the complaint.2 Plaintiff alleges he is a “Cape Verdean King of Kings,” and “IFA/Santaria.” (ECF 1 at 5- 6.) In April 2025, Plaintiff submitted an order to show cause to a state court judge and, as a result, the state courts and the Probation Department “place[d] him on a[n] illegal remand.” (Id.

at 7-8.) Plaintiff further claims that state court judges and OCJ officials have “target[ed]” him, “tak[en] [his] blood from medical,” stuck him with “toxic” and “diseased” needles, and “us[ed] witchcraft, voodoo, folklore, etc.” against him. (Id. at 5-6.) He also states that OCJ Sergeant Jones, who is not named as a defendant, “wants [him] dead,” that she tried to “frame” him “many” times, and that she “used” local law enforcement to “manipulate a situation” to “get [him] back inside” OCJ. (Id.)

2 The Court quotes from the complaint verbatim. All spelling, grammar, and punctuation are as in the original unless noted otherwise. According to Plaintiff, he has a “monighied condition,” a type of anemia that requires him to take cocaine, and that if he does not get cocaine, he experiences dizziness, light- headedness, shortness of breath, and muscle tension, and his body feels like it’s on fire and he feels like he is going to suffocate. (Id. ) Plaintiff claims that he is being denied cocaine for

“vind[i]ctive reasons,” that his detention is an illegal remand “from a declaration of delinquency for a 730 examination to be conducted,” and that he has no “mental health history.” (Id.) Attached to the complaint are medical records, and a document from 2025 stating that Petitioner was scheduled to undergo an examination pursuant to Article 730 of the Criminal Procedure Law. (Id. at 11-16.) Plaintiff claims that, in 2001, the OCJ Medical Department “used” him and others to bring cocaine in “to treat people with ‘monighied conditions.’” (Id.) After medical staff fatally poisoned several detainees, there was an investigation into” 114 kilos of cocaine that was “ordered for medical purposes” in Plaintiff’s name. (Id. at 7.) OCJ staff members were allegedly “caught” smuggling cocaine out of the facility, and a “drug ring” that had been operating inside

OCJ was “busted.” (Id.) Plaintiff also alleges that, after his mother told him on the telephone that she would send him $165 million, correction officers took his personal property and placed a chemical called Technetium-99, which is used to treat cancer patients, in his system to “monitor [his] every action and all that [he] observe[s].” (Id. at 8.) He claims that the chemical is now being used by “cults” and the “Montenetta” (Id.) Plaintiff states that he is being unlawfully deprived of his liberty, and he seeks to be immediately released and to receive $350 million in damages. (Id. at 8-10.) DISCUSSION A. Claims against Orange County entities and Orange County The claims against the Orange County Jail, the Orange County Courthouse, and the Orange County Probation Department must be dismissed because those defendants are entities that do not have the capacity to be sued. Under Rule 17 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, an entity’s capacity to be sued is generally determined by the law of the state where the court is

located and none of the above entities is suable under New York law. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(b)(3); Edwards v. Arocho, 125 F.4th 336, 354 (2d Cir. 2024) (“A plaintiff cannot bring a claim against a municipal agency that does not have the capacity to be sued under its municipal charter.” (emphasis in original)). Pearson v. O.C.J. of Goshen, N.Y., No. 7:24-CV-8254, 2025 WL 370965, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 3, 2025) (Orange County Sheriff’s Office is not a suable entity); Murphy v. Rockland Cnty., 25-CV-1950 (LLS), 2025 WL 2689039, at *10 (S.D.N.Y., Sept. 18, 2025) (citing Simpson v. Town of Warwick Police Dep’t, 159 F. Supp. 3d 419, 433 (S.D.N.Y. 2016) (Town of Warwick Police Department is not a suable entity), appeal dismissed, No. 16-794 (2d Cir. 2016). Accordingly, the Court dismisses Plaintiff’s claims against the

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Casimir Griffin v. Orange County Courthouse Entirely; Orange County Staff; Orange County Jail Medical; All Known and Unknown 1-150; Orange County Jail; Orange County Probation Department; Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall; Restorative Management, (S.D.N.Y. 2026).

Casimir Griffin v. Orange County Courthouse Entirely; Orange County Staff; Orange County Jail Medical; All Known and Unknown 1-150; Orange County Jail; Orange County Probation Department; Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall; Restorative Management (Casimir Griffin v. Orange County Courthouse Entirely; Orange County Staff; Orange County Jail Medical; All Known and Unknown 1-150; Orange County Jail; Orange County Probation Department; Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall; Restorative Management) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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