Lewis v. Johnson County Adult Detention Center

CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedJuly 22, 2022
Docket5:22-cv-03144
StatusUnknown

This text of Lewis v. Johnson County Adult Detention Center (Lewis v. Johnson County Adult Detention Center) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lewis v. Johnson County Adult Detention Center, (D. Kan. 2022).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS

TODD JAMES LEWIS,

Plaintiff,

v. CASE NO. 22-3144-SAC

JOHNSON COUNTY ADULT DETENTION CENTER, et al.,

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

Plaintiff Todd James Lewis is hereby required to show good cause, in writing, to the Honorable Sam A. Crow, United States District Judge, why this action should not be dismissed due to the deficiencies in Plaintiff’s Complaint that are discussed herein. Plaintiff is also given the opportunity to file an amended complaint to cure the deficiencies. I. Nature of the Matter before the Court Plaintiff, a detainee at the Johnson County Adult Detention Center in Olathe, Kansas (“JCADC”), filed this pro se civil rights case under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Court entered a Notice of Deficiency (Doc. 4) advising Plaintiff that his Complaint was deficient because it was not on the Court-approved form, and the civil action filing fee had not been satisfied. The Notice directed Plaintiff to either pay the filing fee or submit a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis. The proper forms were enclosed with the Notice and Plaintiff was granted until August 15, 2022, to cure the deficiencies. The Court will provisionally grant Plaintiff leave to proceed in forma pauperis. However, Plaintiff is still directed to either pay the filing fee or submit a proper motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis by the Court’s August 15, 2022 deadline. Plaintiff alleges in his Complaint that his First Amendment right to freedom of speech has been violated at the JCADC, and he has been punished for exercising that right. Petitioner alleges that he is a pretrial detainee and therefore all of his rights are intact and have not been surrendered. Plaintiff alleges that on June 19, 2022, he attempted to exercise his First Amendment right of freedom of speech, when Officer Kite demanded that Plaintiff stop talking

out and continued to talk over Plaintiff. (Doc. 1, at 3–4.) Plaintiff alleges that the “details of the events of that day will be provide[d] during discovery but they bear no importance as to the claim.” Id. at 3. Plaintiff takes issue with being treated differently than the jail staff, with staff retaining their freedom of speech rights while Plaintiff is denied his rights. Plaintiff asserts that both parties should have the same rights, or they should both mutually agree to suspend the same right at the same time. Id. at 5–6. Plaintiff alleges that he received a 10-day lockdown as punishment and was required to remain in the cell with the Module Officer deciding when and if Plaintiff received his one hour of recreation. Id. at 4–5.

Plaintiff suggests that staff at the JCADC incorrectly believe they can subject Plaintiff to their rules. Id. at 6. Plaintiff claims that his rights cannot be infringed, and that anyone who does so has committed a crime and is liable for punitive damages. Id. at 6–7. Plaintiff names as defendants: the JCADC; the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department; Johnson County; (fnu) Kite, Sheriff’s Officer; and (fnu) Acker, Sheriff’s Officer. Plaintiff seeks $10 million in damages, to have the officers involved terminated, and to have supervisors either retrained or terminated. Id. at 7. II. Statutory Screening of Prisoner Complaints The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a governmental entity or an officer or an employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if a plaintiff has raised claims that are legally frivolous or malicious, that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1)–(2).

“To state a claim under § 1983, a plaintiff must allege the violation of a right secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States, and must show that the alleged deprivation was committed by a person acting under color of state law.” West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988) (citations omitted); Northington v. Jackson, 973 F.2d 1518, 1523 (10th Cir. 1992). A court liberally construes a pro se complaint and applies “less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007). In addition, the court accepts all well-pleaded allegations in the complaint as true. Anderson v. Blake, 469 F.3d 910, 913 (10th Cir. 2006). On the other hand, “when the allegations in a complaint, however true, could not raise a claim of entitlement to relief,” dismissal is appropriate. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly,

550 U.S. 544, 558 (2007). A pro se litigant’s “conclusory allegations without supporting factual averments are insufficient to state a claim upon which relief can be based.” Hall v. Bellmon, 935 F.2d 1106, 1110 (10th Cir. 1991). “[A] plaintiff’s obligation to provide the ‘grounds’ of his ‘entitlement to relief’ requires “more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555 (citations omitted). The complaint’s “factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level” and “to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. at 555, 570. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has explained “that, to state a claim in federal court, a complaint must explain what each defendant did to [the pro se plaintiff]; when the defendant did it; how the defendant’s action harmed [the plaintiff]; and, what specific legal right the plaintiff believes the defendant violated.” Nasious v. Two Unknown B.I.C.E. Agents, 492 F.3d 1158, 1163 (10th Cir. 2007). The court “will not supply additional factual allegations to round out a plaintiff’s complaint or construct a legal theory on a plaintiff’s behalf.” Whitney v. New

Mexico, 113 F.3d 1170, 1173-74 (10th Cir. 1997) (citation omitted). The Tenth Circuit has pointed out that the Supreme Court’s decisions in Twombly and Erickson gave rise to a new standard of review for § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) dismissals. See Kay v. Bemis, 500 F.3d 1214, 1218 (10th Cir. 2007) (citations omitted); see also Smith v. United States, 561 F.3d 1090, 1098 (10th Cir. 2009). As a result, courts “look to the specific allegations in the complaint to determine whether they plausibly support a legal claim for relief.” Kay, 500 F.3d at 1218 (citation omitted). Under this new standard, “a plaintiff must ‘nudge his claims across the line from conceivable to plausible.’” Smith, 561 F.3d at 1098 (citation omitted). “Plausible” in this context does not mean “likely to be true,” but rather refers “to the scope of the allegations in

a complaint: if they are so general that they encompass a wide swath of conduct, much of it innocent,” then the plaintiff has not “nudged [his] claims across the line from conceivable to plausible.” Robbins v. Oklahoma, 519 F.3d 1242, 1247 (10th Cir. 2008) (citing Twombly, 127 S. Ct. at 1974). III. DISCUSSION 1. First Amendment Claims Plaintiff claims that he was denied his First Amendment right to free speech when jail staff spoke over him and denied him the right to speak freely.

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Lewis v. Johnson County Adult Detention Center, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lewis-v-johnson-county-adult-detention-center-ksd-2022.