Shana Shaw v. Ken Scattergood; Victoria Roessling; County of Dutchess; County of Ulster; Hon. Edward McLoughlin; Dutchess County Probation Department; Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJune 17, 2026
Docket1:25-cv-06678
StatusUnknown

This text of Shana Shaw v. Ken Scattergood; Victoria Roessling; County of Dutchess; County of Ulster; Hon. Edward McLoughlin; Dutchess County Probation Department; Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center (Shana Shaw v. Ken Scattergood; Victoria Roessling; County of Dutchess; County of Ulster; Hon. Edward McLoughlin; Dutchess County Probation Department; Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shana Shaw v. Ken Scattergood; Victoria Roessling; County of Dutchess; County of Ulster; Hon. Edward McLoughlin; Dutchess County Probation Department; Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center, (S.D.N.Y. 2026).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK SHANA SHAW, Plaintiff, -against- KEN SCATTERGOOD; VICTORIA 25-CV-6678 (LLS) ROESSLING; COUNTY OF DUTCHESS; COUNTY OF ULSTER; HON. EDWARD ORDER OF DISMISSAL MCLOUGHLIN; DUTCHESS COUNTY WITH LEAVE TO REPLEAD PROBATION DEPARTMENT; DUTCHESS COUNTY JUSTICE AND TRANSITION CENTER, Defendants. LOUIS L. STANTON, United States District Judge: Plaintiff, who is proceeding pro se, brings this action under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985 and 1986; 18 U.S.C. § 242; and the Supremacy Clause.1 Plaintiff’s claims concern her arrest and prosecution in Dutchess County, New York. She names as Defendants: Dutchess County Assistant District Attorney (“ADA”) Victoria Roessling; the Hon. Edward McLoughlin; Dutchess County Probation Department; Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center (“DCJTC”); Officer Ken Scattergood of Dutchess County; and Dutchess and Ulster Counties. By order dated January 21, 2026, the court granted Plaintiff’s request to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”), that is, without prepayment of fees. For the reasons set forth below, the Court

1 Plaintiff filed an amended complaint (ECF 16) on December 23, 2025, a supplemental affidavit on December 24, 2025 (ECF 17), and a third amended complaint (ECF 18) on December 24, 2025; the third amended complaint is the operative pleading. The Court refers to the original complaint (ECF 1), the supplemental affidavit, and the amended complaint for the sole purpose of providing background information, including the full names of the defendants. dismisses the complaint, but grants Plaintiff 30 days’ leave to replead her claims in an amended pleading. STANDARD OF REVIEW The Court must dismiss an IFP complaint, or portion thereof, that is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a

defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B); see Livingston v. Adirondack Beverage Co., 141 F.3d 434, 437 (2d Cir. 1998). The Court must also dismiss a complaint when the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3). While the law mandates dismissal on any of these grounds, the Court is obliged to construe pro se pleadings liberally, Harris v. Mills, 572 F.3d 66, 72 (2d Cir. 2009), and interpret them to raise the “strongest [claims] that they suggest,” Triestman v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 470 F.3d 471, 474 (2d Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). BACKGROUND The following facts are drawn from the “third amended complaint” filed on December 24, 2025, which is the operative complaint, and Plaintiff’s affidavit, which the Court construes as a supplemental pleading, pursuant to Rule 15(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.2

On an unspecified date, “Plaintiff’s underlying conviction was reversed, rendering all ancillary enforcement orders—including supervision, electronic monitoring, and custodial authority—void ab initio.” (ECF 18, at 6.) During an unspecified time, Plaintiff was subjected to approximately thirteen (13) days of incarceration at DCJTC [Defendant Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center] “[d]espite pending stays and known jurisdictional defects.” (Id. at 8.)

2 All spelling, grammar, and punctuation are as in the operative complaint and supplemental pleading unless noted otherwise. During this detention, “Plaintiff was pregnant and repeatedly reported bleeding, pain, and medical distress,” but “Defendants delayed, denied, and disregarded medical care, demonstrating deliberate indifference.” (Id.) While detained, “Plaintiff suffered a miscarriage.” (Id. at 9.) Plaintiff asserts that the “[c]ontinued restraint following reversal constitutes unlawful seizure and detention.” (Id. at 6.) She also asserts that “[d]espite pending stays and actual notice,

Defendants enforced house arrest and electronic monitoring, depriving Plaintiff of liberty.” (Id. at 8.) Plaintiff indicates that she “initiated federal civil rights litigation in the Southern and Northern Districts of New York.” (Id. at 7.) She also indicates that she “served formal Supremacy Clause and jurisdictional notice on Defendants and the Dutchess County Attorney, advising that continued enforcement conflicted with federal law.” (Id.) Plaintiff brings claims against Judge Edward McLoughlin, who she claims “[r]efused to rule on jurisdictional challenges . . . [and] acted outside judicial authority.” (Id. at 9.) She also brings claims against Dutchess and Ulster Counties, asserting that these defendants “retained

joint counsel to defend related federal actions.” (Id. at 10.) Plaintiff invokes federal criminal statutes, including 18 U.S.C. § 242, noting that although Section 242 “is a criminal statute, its elements define willful constitutional deprivation.” (Id. at 11.) Plaintiff also invokes the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, claiming “[u]nlawful arrest, monitoring, and incarceration.” (Id. at 13.) Finally, Plaintiff asserts a First Amendment retaliation claim, asserting that “Defendants retaliated against [her] for filing federal litigation.” (Id. at 13.) Plaintiff seeks a “[d]eclaratory judgment that all enforcement orders were void[,] [i]njunctive relief terminating all restraints, monitoring, and supervision[,] [and] [c]ompensatory and punitive damages for unlawful incarceration and miscarriage[.]” (Id. at 17.) In Plaintiff’s supplemental pleading, she states that during her detention, she “was pregnant and experienced serious medical distress, including bleeding and pain, which I reported

to jail staff.” (ECF 17, at 3.) After being released from custody, on December 24, 2025, she “was treated at Vassar Brothers Medica Center [VBMC] . . . for complications related to my miscarriage.” (Id.) When she was discharged from VBMC, she was instructed “to follow up with an OB/GYN within 3-5 days, demonstrating that my condition required ongoing specialist care beyond what could be provided in custody.” (Id.) Plaintiff asserts that “[t]his treatment and follow-up recommendation are directly linked to the physical and emotional harm I suffered as a result of unlawful incarceration[.]” (Id.) DISCUSSION A. Assistant District Attorney Roessling Plaintiff’s claims against ADA Roessling are dismissed under the doctrine of prosecutorial immunity. Prosecutors are immune from civil suits for damages for acts committed

within the scope of their official duties where the challenged activities are not investigative in nature but, rather, are “‘intimately associated with the judicial phase of the criminal process.’” Giraldo v. Kessler, 694 F.3d 161, 165 (2d Cir. 2012) (quoting Imbler v. Pachtman, 424 U.S. 409, 430 (1976)); see also Buckley v. Fitzsimmons, 509 U.S. 259, 269 (1993) (explaining that absolute immunity is analyzed under a “functional approach” that “looks to the nature of the function performed, not the identity of the actor who performed it” (internal quotation marks and citations omitted)).

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Bluebook (online)
Shana Shaw v. Ken Scattergood; Victoria Roessling; County of Dutchess; County of Ulster; Hon. Edward McLoughlin; Dutchess County Probation Department; Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shana-shaw-v-ken-scattergood-victoria-roessling-county-of-dutchess-nysd-2026.