Slaikeu v. Withrow

CourtDistrict Court, D. Alaska
DecidedJune 30, 2025
Docket3:25-cv-00063
StatusUnknown

This text of Slaikeu v. Withrow (Slaikeu v. Withrow) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Alaska primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Slaikeu v. Withrow, (D. Alaska 2025).

Opinion

THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ALASKA JONATHAN A. SLAIKEU,

Plaintiff, v. DARREN WITHROW, et al., Case No. 3:25-cv-00063-SLG Defendants,

SCREENING ORDER On March 28, 2025, self-represented prisoner Jonathan A. Slaikeu (“Plaintiff”) filed a civil complaint, a civil cover sheet, an application to waive

prepayment of the filing fee, and a declaration.1 On April 5, 2025, Plaintiff filed a motion to file an amended complaint with a proposed amended complaint.2 On May 15, 2025, Plaintiff filed another motion to file an amended complaint and attached a proposed amended complaint.3 Although the Court had not yet ruled on Plaintiff’s motion to file an amended complaint, Plaintiff filed another motion to

allow an amended complaint to be filed on May 28, 2025 but did not attached a proposed amended complaint to that motion.4

1 Dockets 1-4. 2 Docket 5. 3 Dockets 7, 7-1. 4 Docket 8. Plaintiff’s motion to file an amended complaint at Docket 7 is GRANTED. The Court therefore considers the Amended Complaint at Docket 7-1 to be the operative complaint. Because an amended complaint replaces the prior complaint

in its entirety,5 the Court need not consider any facts or arguments from any earlier filings. The Amended Complaint at Docket 7-1 claims on or about May 21, 2024, Defendant Darren Withrow authorized a body cavity search, during which one of the seven correctional officers involved sexually assaulted him by inserting his

hand into Plaintiff’s anus. For relief, Plaintiff requests $25,000,000 in compensatory damages, $34,500,000 in punitive damages, and a declaration that all named Defendants must be immediately terminated and arrested for participating in or covering up the alleged sexual assault.6 The Court has now screened Plaintiff’s Complaint in accordance with 28

U.S.C. §§ 1915(e) and 1915A. For the reasons discussed in this order, Plaintiff's Complaint fails to adequately state a claim for which relief may be granted. Therefore, the Complaint is DISMISSED. However, Plaintiff is accorded 60 days to file an amended complaint that attempts to correct the deficiencies identified in this order.

SCREENING STANDARD

5 See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15; District of Alaska Local Civil Rule 15.1. 6 Docket 7-1 at 5. Case No. 3:25-cv-00063-SLG, Slaikeu v. Withrow, et al. Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, a federal district court must screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity.7 In this screening, a district court shall

dismiss the case at any time if the court determines that the action: (i) is frivolous or malicious; (ii) fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted; or (iii) seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief.8

In conducting its screening review, a district court must accept as true the allegations of the complaint, construe the pleading in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and resolve all doubts in the plaintiff's favor.9 However, a court is not required to accept as true conclusory allegations, unreasonable inferences, or unwarranted deductions of fact.10 Although the scope of review generally is limited to the contents of the complaint, a court may also consider documents attached to the complaint, documents incorporated by reference in the complaint, or matters

7 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915, 1915A. 8 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). 9Bernhardt v. L.A. County, 339 F.3d 920, 925 (9th Cir. 2003) (holding that a court must construe pleadings filed by self-represented litigants liberally and afford the complainant the benefit of any doubt). 10 Doe I v. Wal–Mart Stores, Inc., 572 F.3d 677, 681 (9th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Case No. 3:25-cv-00063-SLG, Slaikeu v. Withrow, et al. of judicial notice.11 Such documents that contradict the allegations of a complaint may fatally undermine the complaint's allegations.12 Before a court may dismiss any portion of a complaint, a court must provide

a plaintiff with a statement of the deficiencies in the complaint and an opportunity to file an amended complaint, unless to do so would be futile.13 Futility exists when “the allegation of other facts consistent with the challenged pleading could not possibly cure the deficiency.”14 DISCUSSION

I. Requirements to State a Claim Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure instructs that a complaint must contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the [complainant] is entitled to relief[.]”15 While a complaint need not, and should not, contain every factual detail, “unadorned, the defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation[s]” are insufficient to state a claim.16 To determine whether a complaint

11 United States v. Ritchie, 342 F.3d 903, 908 (9th Cir. 2003). 12 Sprewell v. Golden State Warriors, 266 F.3d 979, 988 (9th Cir. 2001), amended by 275 F.3d 1187 (2001) (noting that a plaintiff can “plead himself out of a claim by including . . . details contrary to his claims”). 13 Gordon v. City of Oakland, 627 F.3d 1092, 1094 (9th Cir. 2010) (citing Albrecht v. Lund, 845 F.2d 193, 195 (9th Cir. 1988)). 14 Schreiber Distributing Co. v. Serv-Well Furniture Co., 806 F.2d 1393, 1401 (9th Cir. 1986). 15 Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). 16 Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). Case No. 3:25-cv-00063-SLG, Slaikeu v. Withrow, et al. states a valid claim for relief, a district court considers whether the complaint contains enough facts that, if accepted as true, “state[s] a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.”17 A claim is plausible “when the plaintiff pleads factual

content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.”18 Further, a federal court cannot act as an attorney for a self-represented litigant, such as by supplying the essential elements of a claim,19 and it is not a court’s responsibility to review filings or exhibits to identify possible claims. A

complaint must allege that the plaintiff suffered a specific injury as a result of the conduct of a particular defendant, and it must allege an affirmative link between that specific injury and the conduct of that defendant.20 II. Civil Rights Claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (“Section 1983”) To state a claim for relief under Section 1983, a plaintiff must allege plausible

facts that, if proven, would establish that (1) the defendant acting under color of state law (2) deprived the plaintiff of rights secured by the federal Constitution or

17 Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570). In making this determination, a court may consider “materials that are submitted with and attached to the Complaint.” United States v. Corinthian Colls., 655 F.3d 984, 999 (9th Cir.

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