Sai v. Trump

325 F. Supp. 3d 68
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedSeptember 11, 2018
DocketCivil Action No. 18-cv-1500 (TSC)
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 325 F. Supp. 3d 68 (Sai v. Trump) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sai v. Trump, 325 F. Supp. 3d 68 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

Opinion

TANYA S. CHUTKAN, United States District Judge

Before the court is David Keanu Sai's pro se Petition against Donald J. Trump, *71President of the United States of America; Philip S. Davidson, Commander of the Indo-Pacific Command of the United States Navy; and David Ige, Governor of the State of Hawaii. Sai describes himself as the "Chairman of the acting Council of Regency" representing the Hawaiian Kingdom as a sovereign and body politic." Petition ¶ 16. He alleges that the United States committed War Crimes, 18 U.S.C. § 2441, as well as acted in derogation of the Hague Convention, the Geneva Convention, and "international humanitarian laws," when it "invaded Hawaii" in 1893 and subsequently made the island a part of the U.S. See, e.g. , Petition ¶¶ 5, 8, 79-92, 169-205. Citing the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"), 5 U.S.C. § 702, and the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a), Sai asks this court to enjoin the President from continuing any actions with respect to Hawaii that allegedly violate these laws.

Sai also names roughly thirty-four heads of state, leaders of the United Nations, and the Chairperson of the Administrative Council of the Permanent Court of Arbitration as "Nominal Respondents... not 'because any specific relief is demanded as against [them], but because [their] connection with the subject-matter is such that the [Petitioner's] actions would be defective ... if [they] were not joined.' " Petition ¶ 14 (internal quotations and alterations in the original). Sai appears to contend that these foreign officials, entities and bodies failed to remain neutral with respect to U.S. and Hawaii relations, thereby becoming parties to the "war" between the United States and Hawaii and, consequently, violating both the Hague and Geneva Conventions. See id. ¶¶ 16, 18, 109.1

For the reasons set forth below, the court will dismiss Sai's Petition sua sponte .

I. ANALYSIS

A. The All Writs Act

The All Writs Act, in relevant part, states that "all courts established by Act of Congress may issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law." 28 U.S.C. § 1651. However, a court must first determine if it has jurisdiction to issue a writ of mandamus. See In re Asemani , 455 F.3d 296, 299 (D.C. Cir. 2006) ("Before considering whether mandamus relief is appropriate, ... we must be certain of our jurisdiction."). "In other words, there must be an 'independent' statute that grants us jurisdiction before mandamus can be said to 'aid' it." In re al-Nashiri , 791 F.3d 71, 76 (D.C. Cir. 2015). As discussed below, Sai has not cited to a statute that grants this court jurisdiction to hear his claims. Accordingly, he cannot proceed under the All Writs Act.

B. 18 U.S.C. § 2441

Sai seeks relief against Defendants pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2441, which criminalizes various war crimes. But "[c]ourts are 'quite reluctant to infer a private right of action from a criminal prohibition alone.' " Peavey v. Holder , 657 F.Supp.2d 180, 190-91 (D.D.C. 2009), aff'd , No. 09-5389, 2010 WL 3155823 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 9, 2010) (alterations omitted) (citing Cent. Bank of Denver, N.A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N.A. , 511 U.S. 164, 190, 114 S.Ct. 1439, 128 L.Ed.2d 119 (1994) ). Accordingly, "unless a specific statute provides for a private right of action, courts have found that violations of Title 18 are properly brought by the United States government through criminal *72proceedings and not by individuals in a civil action." Hallal v. Mardel , No. 116CV01432DADSAB, 2016 WL 6494411, at *3 (E.D. Cal. Nov. 2, 2016) (citing Abou-Hussein v. Gates , 657 F.Supp.2d 77, 79 (D.D.C. 2009) ; Prunte v. Universal Music Grp. , 484 F.Supp.2d 32, 42 (D.D.C. 2007) ; Smith v. Gerber , 64 F.Supp.2d 784, 787 (N.D. Ill. 1999) ).

Moreover, at least one other court has held that Section 2441 does not create a private cause of action, Jawad v. Gates , 113 F.Supp.3d 251, 259 (D.D.C. 2015), and Sai has not cited to any provision of Title 18 which would authorize such an action under Section 2441.

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

Related

Roth v. Trump
District of Columbia, 2021
Manning v. Barr
District of Columbia, 2021
Lescs v. City of Winchester
W.D. Virginia, 2020

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
325 F. Supp. 3d 68, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sai-v-trump-cadc-2018.