Mark Knox v. Johnny Hardwick

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• Decided: April 30, 2024
• Docket: 23-12493
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

USCA11 Case: 23-12493 Document: 30-1 Date Filed: 04/30/2024 Page: 1 of 5

[DO NOT PUBLISH] In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit

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No. 23-12493 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________

MARK KNOX, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus JOHNNY HARDWICK, Judge, Ala. 15th Circuit Court,

Defendant-Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama D.C. Docket No. 2:22-cv-00075-WKW-JTA USCA11 Case: 23-12493 Document: 30-1 Date Filed: 04/30/2024 Page: 2 of 5

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Before JORDAN, LAGOA, and MARCUS, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Mark Knox, proceeding pro se, appeals following the district court’s dismissal of his complaint against Johnny Hardwick, a Montgomery County, Alabama, Circuit Court Judge. In the com- plaint, Knox alleged that Judge Hardwick had violated his civil rights in state court when the judge purportedly would not let him speak and directed a bailiff to detain him during proceedings in- volving medical malpractice claims Knox had brought against a hospital. The district court dismissed Knox’s federal complaint on two grounds: (1) it was barred by the Rooker-Feldman 1 doctrine; and (2) Judge Hardwick was entitled to judicial immunity. On appeal, Knox argues that the district court erred in dismissing his complaint as barred by judicial immunity. After thorough review, we affirm. We review de novo whether an official is entitled to judicial immunity. Smith v. Shook, 237 F.3d 1322, 1325 (11th Cir. 2001). Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B), a district court shall dismiss an action by a litigant proceeding in forma pauperis if it is frivolous or malicious or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i) and (iii).

1 The Rooker-Feldman doctrine is named for Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co., 263 U.S.

413 (1923), and District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462 (1983). USCA11 Case: 23-12493 Document: 30-1 Date Filed: 04/30/2024 Page: 3 of 5

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We liberally construe the pleadings of pro se litigants, but we will not “serve as de facto counsel” or “rewrite an otherwise defi- cient pleading.” Campbell v. Air Jamaica Ltd., 760 F.3d 1165, 1168– 69 (11th Cir. 2014) (quotations omitted). An appellant abandons any argument not briefed on appeal, made in passing, or raised briefly without supporting arguments or authority. Access Now, Inc. v. Sw. Airlines Co., 385 F.3d 1324, 1330 (11th Cir. 2004); Sapuppo v. Allstate Floridian Ins. Co., 739 F.3d 678, 681 (11th Cir. 2014). To obtain reversal of a district court judgment that is based on multi- ple, independent grounds, an appellant must convince us that every stated ground for the judgment against him is incorrect. Sapuppo, 739 F.3d at 680. Judges are entitled to absolute judicial immunity from dam- ages for their acts taken while acting in their judicial capacity unless they acted in the “clear absence of all jurisdiction.” Bolin v. Story, 225 F.3d 1234, 1239 (11th Cir. 2000) (quotations omitted). Thus, a judge enjoys immunity for judicial acts even if he made a mistake, acted maliciously, or exceeded his authority. McCullough v. Finley, 907 F.3d 1324, 1331 (11th Cir. 2018) (noting that even “a judicial officer who was allegedly motivated to further a conspiracy enjoys absolute judicial immunity”). Further, a judge acts in “clear ab- sence of all jurisdiction” only if he lacked subject-matter jurisdic- tion. Id. at 1332 (quotations omitted). In this appeal, Knox argues that the district court erred in dismissing his complaint as barred by judicial immunity. Notably, however, the district court dismissed Knox’s complaint on two USCA11 Case: 23-12493 Document: 30-1 Date Filed: 04/30/2024 Page: 4 of 5

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independent grounds – one was that Judge Hardwick was entitled to judicial immunity, and the other was that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine barred his claims, since the appropriate course for Knox’s challenge to Judge Hardwick’s rulings or conduct in the state court litigation should have been to seek relief by pursuing an appeal in that case to the appropriate state court. But Knox failed to chal- lenge the district court’s conclusion that his complaint was barred by the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, so he has not challenged every stated ground for the judgment against him. As a result, he has abandoned his claim on appeal and the judgment is due to be af- firmed on this basis. Sapuppo, 739 F.3d at 680. But, in any event, even if we were to address the argument Knox raises on appeal -- concerning judicial immunity -- we are un- persuaded. The district court did not err in dismissing Knox’s com- plaint as barred by judicial immunity because, assuming the allega- tions in the complaint to be true, Judge Hardwick would have been acting within his judicial capacity when he ordered the bailiff to detain Knox during proceedings in the judge’s courtroom. Bolin, 225 F.3d at 1239. Indeed, under Alabama law, “[e]very court” has the “power . . . [t]o preserve and enforce order in its immediate presence . . . as is necessary to prevent interruption, disturbance or hindrance to its proceedings” and “[t]o control, in furtherance of justice, the conduct of its officers and all other persons connected with a judicial proceeding before it[.]” Ala. Code § 12-1-7(1),(4). Thus, even if Judge Hardwick had acted maliciously or exceeded his judicial authority when he was attempting to maintain court- room decorum during Knox’s case, he was entitled to judicial USCA11 Case: 23-12493 Document: 30-1 Date Filed: 04/30/2024 Page: 5 of 5

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immunity, so long as he was not acting in the clear absence of all jurisdiction. McCullough, 907 F.3d at 1331; Bolin, 225 F.3d at 1239. Knox has made no allegation to this effect. Accordingly, we also affirm the district court’s dismissal of Knox’s complaint on judicial immunity grounds. AFFIRMED.