Smith v. United States

• Court: District Court, District of Columbia
• Decided: July 30, 2010
• Docket: Civil Action No. 2010-1299
• Status: Published

Opinion

FILED UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUL 30 2010 FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Clerk us' COurts" . District. &8ankruptcy for the Dist net of COlumbia KEITH SMITH, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 10 1299 ) THE UNITED STATES, et al., ) ) Defendants. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION

This matter is before the Court on plaintiff s application to proceed in forma pauperis

and pro se complaint. The application will be granted, and the complaint will be dismissed.

Plaintiff alleges that he has been kidnapped and is held illegally in a private prison, the

Wheeler Correctional Facility in Alamo, Georgia. Among other relief, plaintiff demands

unspecified injunctive relief and $20 million in damages.

Because plaintiffs claims go to the fact of his incarceration, he cannot recover damages

in this civil rights action without showing that his confinement has been invalidated by

"revers[al] on direct appeal, expunge[ment] by executive order, declar[ation of invalidity] by a

state tribunal authorized to make such determination, or ... a federal court's issuance of a writ of

habeas corpus." Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477,486-87 (1994); accord White v. Bowie, 194

F.3d 175 (D.C. Cir. 1999) (table). Plaintiff has not satisfied this prerequisite and therefore his

complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can granted. This action will be dismissed

under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(8)(ii) and 1915A(b)(1). An Order is issued separately.

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