Steven Gregory Blevins v. Riley B. Landeis and Eric Auten

CourtDistrict Court, D. Alaska
DecidedOctober 30, 2025
Docket3:25-cv-00111
StatusUnknown

This text of Steven Gregory Blevins v. Riley B. Landeis and Eric Auten (Steven Gregory Blevins v. Riley B. Landeis and Eric Auten) 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
Steven Gregory Blevins v. Riley B. Landeis and Eric Auten, (D. Alaska 2025).

Opinion

THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ALASKA STEVEN GREGORY BLEVINS, Plaintiff, v. Case No. 3:25-cv-00111-SLG RILEY B. LANDEIS and ERIC AUTEN, Defendants.

SCREENING ORDER On June 4, 2025, self-represented prisoner Steven Gregory Blevins (“Plaintiff”) filed a civil complaint and an application to waive prepayment of the filing fee.1 Plaintiff names Riley Landeis, his parole officer, and Eric Auten, a public

defender appointed to represent Plaintiff in his ongoing state post-conviction relief proceedings, as Defendants.2 Liberally construed, Plaintiff seeks to challenge his arrest on or about July 17, 2024, his subsequent parole revocation, and his return to custody. Plaintiff is also dissatisfied with the attorney appointed to represent him in his post-conviction relief case in state court. For relief, Plaintiff seeks monetary damages and for the Court to provide him with legal counsel.3

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

1 Dockets 1-2. 2 Docket 1 at 2. 3 Docket 1 at 5. 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 as to only his claims against Officer Landeis.

Plaintiff’s claims against Attorney Auten are dismissed with prejudice and must not be included in an amended complaint. Additionally, Plaintiff must not include any claims that would necessarily imply or assert the invalidity of his parole revocation or his underlying criminal conviction.4 Alternatively, Plaintiff may file a notice of voluntary dismissal in which he elects to close this case.

SCREENING STANDARD 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.5 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.6

In conducting its screening review, a district court must accept as true the allegations of the complaint, construe the complaint in the light most favorable to

4 Guerrero v. Gates, 442 F.3d 697, 703 (9th Cir. 2006) (citing Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 486-87 (1994)). 5 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915, 1915A. 6 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). Case No. 3:25-cv-00111-SLG, Blevins v. Landeis, et al. the plaintiff, and resolve all doubts in the plaintiff's favor.7 However, a court is not required to accept as true conclusory allegations, unreasonable inferences, or unwarranted deductions of fact.8 Although a court must liberally construe

complaints filed by self-represented plaintiffs, it is not required to sift through disorganized, illegible, or incoherent material to construct claims on a litigant’s behalf.9 Rather, it is the plaintiff’s responsibility to gather and plead the necessary facts to support his claims. Apart from searching the Alaska state court dockets on occasion, the Court does not conduct any independent research when screening

a complaint. However, a court may consider documents attached to the complaint, documents incorporated by reference in the complaint, or matters of judicial notice.10 Such documents that contradict the allegations of a complaint may fatally undermine the complaint's allegations.11 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.12 Futility exists when

7Bernhardt 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). 8 Doe I v. Wal–Mart Stores, Inc., 572 F.3d 677, 681 (9th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). 9 Indep. Towers of Washington v. Washington, 350 F.3d 925, 929 (9th Cir. 2003). 10 United States v. Ritchie, 342 F.3d 903, 908 (9th Cir. 2003). 11 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”). 12 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)). Case No. 3:25-cv-00111-SLG, Blevins v. Landeis, et al. “the allegation of other facts consistent with the challenged pleading could not possibly cure the deficiency.”13 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[.]”14 A complaint that is “verbose, confusing and conclusory” violates Rule 8.15 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 A federal court cannot act as an attorney for a self-represented litigant, such as by supplying the essential elements of a claim,17 and it is not a court’s responsibility to review filings or exhibits to identify possible claims.18 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.19

13 Schreiber Distributing Co. v. Serv-Well Furniture Co., 806 F.2d 1393, 1401 (9th Cir. 1986). 14 Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). 15 Nevijel v. N. Coast Life Ins. Co., 651 F.2d 671, 674 (9th Cir. 1981). 16 Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). 17 Pliler v. Ford, 542 U.S. 225, 231 (2004); Ivey v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. of Alaska, 673 F.2d 266, 268 (9th Cir. 1982). 18 Keenan v. Allan, 91 F.3d 1275, 1279 (9th Cir. 1996) (noting that it is not a district court's task “to scour the record” for support for the parties' arguments). Cf. Carmen v. San Francisco Unified Sch. Dist., 237 F.3d 1026, 1031 (9th Cir. 2001) (concluding that evidence supporting a party’s filing should be “set forth in the ...

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Steven Gregory Blevins v. Riley B. Landeis and Eric Auten, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/steven-gregory-blevins-v-riley-b-landeis-and-eric-auten-akd-2025.