Robinson v. Carson

District Court, D. Nebraska·Decided October 18, 2023·No. 8:23-cv-00137·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA

KIRK D. ROBINSON,

Plaintiff, 8:23CV137

vs. MEMORANDUM AND ORDER RYAN CARSON, District Judge; JOHN MARSH, District Judge; GERALD JORGENSEN, County Judge; JOHN RADEMACHER, County Judge; SHAWN EATHERTON, County Attorney; PATRICK LEE, Deputy County Attorney (now District Judge); KARL FISK, Deputy County Attorney; JEFF WIRTH, Public Defender; D. BRANDON BRINEGAR, Deputy Public Defender; NANCY S. FREEBURG, Attorney; LORALEA FRANK, Attorney; NIEL MILLER, Buffalo County Sheriff; BRANDON BRUEGGEMANN, Buffalo County Deputy Sheriff; ANTHONY CORDOVA, Kearney Police Detective; ALL OTHER SHERIFF AND KEARNEY POLICE INDIVIDUALS NAMED BY PROSECUTION AS WITNESSES FOR CASE CR19-15, RAND FAIR, County Attorney; ANY AND ALL OTHER COURT OFFICIALS INVOLVED IN CASE CR19-134, and MICHAEL MEDFER, Deputy County Attorney;

Defendants. Plaintiff Kirk D. Robinson, a prisoner proceeding pro se, filed a pro se Complaint on April 11, 2023 (the “Initial Complaint”). Filing No. 1. Leave to proceed in forma pauperis was granted on April 17, 2023. Filing No. 8. Subsequently on June 2, 2023, Plaintiff filed a motion to amend his Initial Complaint, Filing No. 16, and then on June 5,

2023, filed a motion for review, Filing No. 17, apparently seeking review of his Initial Complaint. On June 8, 2023, while both motions were still pending, Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint (hereinafter the “Amended Complaint”). Filing No. 18. As Plaintiff properly amended his Initial Complaint via filing the Amended Complaint, both the motion to amend the Initial Complaint and the motion seeking review of the Initial Complaint are moot and shall be denied. The Court now conducts an initial review of the Amended Complaint to determine whether summary dismissal is appropriate under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2) and 1915A(a) and, for the reasons set forth below, finds that it is, but that in lieu of dismissal, the Court sua sponte grants Plaintiff leave to amend.

I. SUMMARY OF COMPLAINT1 Plaintiff, a prisoner currently incarcerated at the Lincoln Reception and Treatment Center, Filing No. 1 at 2,2 filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging various constitutional claims naming the following parties as defendants: Judge Ryan Carson, Judge John

1 Although Plaintiff references other matters filed in this Court, indicating that this Court should refer to those cases in order to fully understand the instant matter, see Filing No. 18 at 6 (directing this Court to review a § 1983 case Robinson v. State, Case No. 8:22-cv-151, and an unnamed case pending in Lancaster Nebraska), and Id. at 10 (directing this Court to review his 28 U.S.C. §2254 habeas petition, Robinson v. Boyd, Case No. 8:22-cv-412 (the “Federal Habeas”)), this Court shall not scour the dockets of various cases in an attempt to fill in the factual blanks of Plaintiff’s instant Complaint where Plaintiff has failed to plead the necessary facts. 2 Plaintiff mistakenly referred to the facility as the “Retention and Treatment Center.” See https://corrections.nebraska.gov/facilities/reception-and-treatment-center. Marsh, Judge Gerald Jorgensen, Judge John Rademacher, Judge Patrick Lee, County Attorney Shawn Eatherton and Randy Fair, Deputy County Attorneys, Kari Fisk and Michael Medfer, Public Defender D Brandon Brinegar,3 Buffalo County Sheriffs Niel Miller and Brandon Bruggemann, and Kearney Police Detective Anthony Cordova, and all other

county and town police officials involved in case number CR19-134 (collectively “Defendants”), Filing No. 18 at 1. His claims appear to arise from a series of events occurring from October 2018 through April 2023. Id. at 2–10. Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that on October 6, 2018, he was served paperwork regarding a harassment protection order (the “Protection Order”) signed by defendant Judge Marsh. Id. at 2. Plaintiff sought a hearing to show cause as to why the Protection Order should not be enforced, which was initially set for November 2, 2018, but was later continued to February 19, 2019. Id. Around the end of October or the beginning of November 2018, prior to the hearing on the Protection Order, Plaintiff gave several of his firearms (the “Firearms”) to a friend to hold for him.4 Id. at 2–4.

Plaintiff was arrested on November 20, 2018, and charged with violations including possession of a firearm and felony stalking under Nebraska Revised Statute § 28-1206.5 Id. at 2. Shortly after Plaintiff’s arrest, a bond hearing was held before defendant Judge Jorgensen, where defendant Deputy County Attorney Medfer argued for a bond of

3 Plaintiff does not formally list Brinegar as a defendant but refers to him in his Complaint and appears to bring a Sixth Amendment claim against him as a defendant. Filing No. 18 at 5–6. 4 Plaintiff also alleges that (apparently before his trial) he believes his friend was contacted by defendants Bruggemann and Cordova and, without a warrant, was coerced to turn over the Firearms under threat of retaliatory prosecution. Id. at 4. It is unclear from the Complaint when this alleged incident occurred. 5 Plaintiff also alleges he was arrested on October 29, 2018, for violation of a protection order and a “DUI.” Id. at 4. Plaintiff submits that although the protection order charge from the October 29, 2018, arrest was dismissed due to lack of evidence, the charges brought against him following his November 20, 2018, arrest used “the same incident and same circumstances as the dismissed protection order violation” from the October 29, 2018, arrest. Id. $250,000, which was granted allegedly due to Plaintiff’s “enormous” financial resources. Id. at 2. In late summer or early fall of 2019, Plaintiff alleges he moved an unnamed court to grant a hearing seeking dismissal of case “CR 19-15,” in part arguing on the day of his

arrest no firearms were found in his possession. Id. at 3. Plaintiff alleges that motion was “ignored” but that later, at an unrelated hearing, defendant Judge Carson indicated he was aware of the prior motion filed by Plaintiff but that “even if he did grant a hearing, he couldn’t dismiss the case anyway.” Id. Plaintiff does not state in his Amended Complaint when/if he was convicted or what charges he was convicted of or any additional facts until noting that on April 26, 2023, a hearing for disposition of the Firearms was held before defendant Judge Carson with defendant Fisk representing the state. Id. at 5. Plaintiff alleges the Firearms were “given to his designee to possess” and Plaintiff received no compensation for them. Id. The Court summarizes the following claims brought by Plaintiff against Defendants

as: (1) First Amendment violation of the “right to petition the government;” (2) Second Amendment violation of the right to bear arms;6 (3) Fourth Amendment violation of the right against illegal search and seizure; (4) Fifth Amendment violation of the prohibition against double jeopardy, self-incrimination, due process, and deprivation of life, liberty, and property; (5) Sixth Amendment violation of the right to counsel; (6) Eighth Amendment violations of excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment; (7) Eleventh

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