Silver v. Ghee

• Court: District Court, N.D. California
• Decided: November 20, 2024
• Docket: 3:24-cv-03593
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 MICHAEL JOHN SILVER, Case No. 24-cv-03593-TLT

8 Plaintiff, ORDER OF DISMISSAL 9 v.

10 K. GHEE, et al., 11 Defendants.

12 13 Plaintiff, a state prisoner, filed a pro se complaint against a clerk at the Alameda County 14 Superior Court. ECF 1. Plaintiff will be granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis by separate 15 order. Plaintiff’s complaint is now before the Court for screening pursuant to pursuant to 28 16 U.S.C. § 1915A. For the reasons identified below, the complaint is dismissed. 17 DISCUSSION 18 A. Standard of Review 19 A federal court must conduct a preliminary screening in any case in which a prisoner seeks 20 redress from a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. See 28 U.S.C. 21 § 1915A(a). In its review, the court must identify any cognizable claims and dismiss any claims 22 that are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted or seek 23 monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), 24 (2). Pro se pleadings must, however, be liberally construed. See United States v. Qazi, 975 F.3d 25 989, 993 (9th Cir. 2020). 26 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires only “a short and plain statement of the 27 claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). “Specific facts are not 1 grounds upon which it rests.’” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93 (2007) (citations omitted). 2 While Rule 8 does not require detailed factual allegations, it demands more than an unadorned, 3 the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 677–78 (2009). 4 A pleading that offers only labels and conclusions, or a formulaic recitation of the elements of a 5 cause of action, or naked assertions devoid of further factual enhancement does not suffice. Id. 6 To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege two essential elements: (1) 7 that a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States was violated, and (2) that the 8 alleged violation was committed by a person acting under the color of state law. See West v. 9 Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988). 10 B. Plaintiff’s Claims 11 Plaintiff names as defendants a deputy clerk at the Alameda County Superior Court, as 12 well as the courthouse itself. He alleges the clerk did not properly file and process his petition for 13 a writ of mandate in which he attempted to make a Freedom of Information Act request from the 14 California Occupational Safety and Health Administration. He claims a violation of his right to 15 due process and seeks money damages. 16 The courthouse cannot be sued because it is not a person within the meaning of § 1983. 17 Clerks of Court and their employees have absolute immunity for damages for tasks performed that 18 are “an integral part of the judicial process.” See, e.g., Moore v. Brewster, 96 F.3d 1240, 1244 19 (9th Cir. 1996); Morrison v. Jones, 607 F.2d 1269, 1273 (9th Cir. 1979); see also Sharma v. 20 Stevas, 790 F.2d 1486, 1486 (9th Cir. 1986) (clerk has absolute quasi-judicial immunity under 21 FTCA where his acts were integral part of judicial process). More recently, the Ninth Circuit has 22 taken a “functional approach” to the question of whether absolute immunity applies in a given 23 situation, meaning state actors are granted absolute immunity from damages liability in suits under 24 § 1983 for performing “functions necessary to the judicial process.” See Miller v. Gammie, 335 25 F.3d 889, 895-96 (9th Cir. 2003) (citing Buckley v. Fitzsimmons, 509 U.S. 259, 268-69 26 (1993)). Because the filing and processing of petitions are actions that are integral and necessary 27 to the judicial process, defendant is immune from plaintiff’s claim for money damages. The case 1 CONCLUSION 2 For the foregoing reasons, the case is DISMISSED for failure to state a claim upon which 3 || relief may be granted. The Clerk shall enter judgment and close the file. 4 IT IS SO ORDERED. 5 Dated: November 20, 2024 6 TR 7 United States District Judge 8 9 10 11 12

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