Nelson v. Fullwood

• Court: District Court, District of Columbia
• Decided: July 31, 2012
• Docket: Civil Action No. 2012-1270
• Status: Published

Opinion

~@»»\-¢~»¢.-.u~.~¢.»m¢»-,»<»`~»..

FH..ED

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 3 1 Zmz

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA clerk U _ b . .S. Distnct & Ba.')t

Courts for the Drsm'ct of Columbia Calvin B. Nelson, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) V. ) Civil Action No.

) 12 1270 Isaac Fulwood et al., ) ) Defendants. )

MEMORANDUM OPlNION

This matter is before the Court on review of plaintiff s pro se complaint and application to proceed in forma pauperis. The application will be granted and the complaint will be dismissed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § l9l 5A (requiring dismissal of a prisoner’s complaint upon a determination that the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted).

Plaintiff is a District of Columbia prisoner currently residing at a halfway house in the District. invoking Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of F ederal Bureau of Narcotz`cs, 403 U.S. 388 (1971), plaintiff sues the Chairman of the United States Parole Commission and other officials for his alleged "overdetention." Compl. at l. He alleges that the Superior C0urt of the District of Columbia sentenced him in 1986 to a prison term of seven to 21 years, and that "[i]t is 5 years later [apparently from plaintiffs last parole revocation] and i’m still being held on my 1986 sentence which by court order has fully expired." Id. at 5. Plaintiff seeks from each defendant SI,OOO for each day he has been incarcerated beyond February 2007 when his sentence

allegedly expired Ia’.

.»-ro~wn~»»~,»»-»>t¢~z»»..~.»»~»~~... ». .. .~ »~, .~ ~ », ,_ ._.., . »e ….». ». ~ . me …,» »....,

Because the success of plaintiffs claim would necessarily void the complained of custody, plaintiff cannot recover monetary damages without first showing that he has invalidated the sentence by, inter alia, "a federal court’s issuance of a writ of habeas corpus." Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 486-87 (1994); see accord In re Jorzes, 652 F.3d 36, 37-38 (D.C. Cir. 2011) (A "damages claim that is based on conduct whose unlawfulness would demonstrate the invalidity of a conviction or sentence is not cognizable unless the conviction or sentence has been invalidated or called into question by issuance of a writ of habeas corpus."). Since plaintiff has made no such showing, this action will be dismissed A separate Order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.

h/_ Uniteél:St-§tes District Judge

Date:July /?,2012