Keyter v. 230 Government Officers

372 F. Supp. 2d 604, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15000, 2005 WL 1350042
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Washington
DecidedMay 20, 2005
DocketC04-5867 RJB CCL
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 372 F. Supp. 2d 604 (Keyter v. 230 Government Officers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Keyter v. 230 Government Officers, 372 F. Supp. 2d 604, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15000, 2005 WL 1350042 (W.D. Wash. 2005).

Opinion

ORDER

LOVELL, Senior District Judge.

Before the Court in the above-captioned civil matter are four motions to dismiss filed by defense counsel, as joined by the Federal Defendants by stipulation of the parties, on behalf of 230 government officers. Also before the Court is Plaintiffs May 3, 2005, motion to disqualify the undersigned on the ground that I am “now a party to the case.” The Court, having considered the briefs of the parties, the entire record, and the applicable law, is prepared to rule on all pending motions.

PRIOR STATE & FEDERAL COURT LITIGATION

Plaintiff Anthony P. Keyter (“Keyter”) presents himself to this Court as a disgruntled litigant. He has already lost two state court cases and one federal court case (at both the district court and appellate court levels) arising out of the same basic transaction, which was a marital dissolution action. In the instant case, Key-ter’s second federal lawsuit, Keyter makes his third attempt to recover property lost through his first state court case.

The marital dissolution action was filed in state court in the State of Washington *606 by Maureen Keyter. The presiding judge in state court was Defendant Marywave Van Deren, who conducted a non-jury trial and announced her decision on December 12, 2001. Keyter was represented at trial by counsel. Judge Van Deren entered and filed Judgment and Decree of Dissolution on January 4, 2002. A Notice of Appeal was filed on August 13, 2002.

Keyter tried to appeal the Superior Court’s Judgment and Decree of Dissolution to the Court of Appeals of the State of Washington, Division II, which granted a motion to dismiss the appeal on September 17, 2002. Keyter might have requested reconsideration by the Court of Appeals or sought review by the Washington Supreme Court, but he did neither.

Instead, Keyter returned to Judge Van Deren and filed a Motion for Relief from Judgment on January 29, 2003. It is unclear from the record whether that motion was denied, but the docket sheet in the case indicates numerous filings by Keyter following the issuance of the mandate by the Court of Appeals. Keyter sent numerous letters and affidavits to the district court and filed a Motion for Default on November 29, 2004. It appears that activity continues (by virtue of Keyter’s continued filings) in that case, although it appears that Judge Lee is now presiding over the case.

Not content to seek relief solely within the state court system in the State of Washington, on December 3, 2003, Keyter filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against President George W. Bush, complaining of President Bush’s “reckless disregard of his statutory duties and violation of Section 3 of Article II of the United States Constitution; violation of 18 U.S.C. § 241; violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242; violation of 18 U.S.C. § 4; and for reckless disregard of his Common Law duties.” See Keyter v. Bush, CV 03-2496(EGS), Opinion and Order at 1, (Dist. Of Col. Aug. 6, 2004) (quoting Compl. at 1). Keyter also complained that President Bush failed to respond either to Keyter’s reports of collusion in the Washington state court system to illegally seize Keyter’s assets and income or to his requests that the crimes of 195 officers of Washington State, and 2 others (ie., his ex-wife and her attorney), be investigated and prosecuted. Keyter alleged that he had sent President Bush a 970 page Dossier of Crimes that informed President Bush of the crimes occurring within the State of Washington and demanded that the President see to it that these crimes were prosecuted. Keyter also sought in that suit to disqualify the U.S. Attorney on the ground of conflict of interest.

The Hon. Emmett G. Sullivan dismissed Keyter’s complaint pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted because (1) there is no private right of action on the criminal statutes (e.g., 18 U.S.C. § 241, 18 U.S.C. § 242, and 18 U.S.C. § 4); (2) absolute immunity protects the President from civil damages actions; and (3) sovereign immunity protects the President acting in his official capacity from civil damages actions. The district court found Keyter’s argument that the U.S. Attorney should be disqualified because of an alleged conflict of interest (between the Attorney General’s duty to prosecute the President and his duty to defend the President) was “utterly without merit.” Id. at 7.

On September 22, 2004, Keyter appealed Judge Sullivan’s decision to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. On February 16, 2005, granting the defendant’s motion for summary affir-mance, the D.C. Circuit panel issued a per curiam decision stating that the case had been properly dismissed by the district *607 court on the ground of President Bush’s absolute immunity. See Keyter v. Bush, 2005 WL 375623, at *1 (D.C.Cir. Feb.16, 2005) (citing Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 807, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982), and Nixon v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 731, 102 S.Ct. 2690, 73 L.Ed.2d 349 (1982)). The panel stated further that there is no private right of action available as to the criminal code. Id. (citing Rockefeller v. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, 248 F.Supp.2d 17, 20 (D.D.C.2003)).

Approximately three months after Judge Sullivan dismissed the federal case, Keyter decided to go back into state court; Key-ter filed a civil action, on November 29, 2004 (the same day Keyter filed a Motion for Default in his dissolution case), against his ex-wife, in Pierce County Superior Court (No. 04-2-13977-1), seeking “damages suffered due to her criminal acts of burglary, perjury, fraud, and theft, which she perpetrated against [Keyter] during the proceedings for the dissolution of their marriage.” That suit was dismissed on December 17, 2004, and Superior Court Judge Armijo imposed $750 in costs against Keyter.

Meanwhile, on December 2, 2004, Key-ter filed the instant Complaint in federal district court in the Western District of Washington.

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

Related

Freeze v. McDermott
W.D. Washington, 2023
Grae-El v. City of Seattle
W.D. Washington, 2022
Keyter v. 535 Members of the 110th Congr
277 F. App'x 825 (Tenth Circuit, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
372 F. Supp. 2d 604, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15000, 2005 WL 1350042, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/keyter-v-230-government-officers-wawd-2005.