Weinert v. Hedgecock

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Oklahoma
DecidedApril 29, 2024
Docket6:23-cv-00330
StatusUnknown

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

Bluebook
Weinert v. Hedgecock, (E.D. Okla. 2024).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA STEVEN ALEXANDER WEINERT, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) No. CIV 23-330-RAW-JAR ) STATE OF OKLAHOMA, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiff is a pro se pretrial detainee who is incarcerated at the LeFlore County Detention Center in Poteau, Oklahoma. He filed this civil rights complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, seeking relief for alleged constitutional violations at the Pushmataha County Jail in Antlers, Oklahoma (Dkt. 1). The defendants are the State of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Attorney General, the Pushmataha County Sheriff’s Department, and Pushmataha County Sheriff B.J. Hedgecock. After careful review of the complaint, the Court finds Plaintiff must file an amended complaint as set forth below. I. Screening/Dismissal Standards Federal courts must engage in a preliminary screening of cases in which prisoners seek redress from a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court must identify any cognizable claims and dismiss any claims that are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b); 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). The pleading standard for all civil actions was articulated in Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007). See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 684 (2009). To avoid dismissal for failure to state a claim under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), a complaint must present factual allegations, assumed to be true, that “raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. The complaint also must contain “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. at 570. A court must accept all the well-pleaded allegations of the complaint as true, even if doubtful in fact, and must construe the allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Id. at 555-56. “So, when the allegations in a complaint, however true, could not raise a claim of entitlement to relief,” the cause of action should be dismissed. Id. at 558. The Court applies the same standard of review for dismissals under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) that is employed for Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim. Kay v. Bemis, 500 F.3d 1214, 1217-18 (10th Cir. 2007). See also Turley v. Rednour, 729 F.3d 645, 649 (7th Cir. 2013) (holding that § 1915A dismissals are reviewed under the Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) standard for stating a claim for relief). A pro se plaintiff’s complaint must be broadly construed under this standard. Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007); Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972). The generous construction given to the pro se litigant’s allegations, however, “does not relieve the plaintiff of the burden of alleging sufficient facts on which a recognized legal claim could be based.” Hall v. Bellmon, 935 F.2d 1106, 1110 (10th Cir. 1991). Notwithstanding a pro se plaintiff’s various mistakes or misunderstandings of legal doctrines or procedural requirements, “if a court can reasonably read the pleadings to state a valid claim on which the plaintiff could prevail, it should do so . . . .” Id. A reviewing court need not accept “mere conclusions characterizing pleaded facts.” Bryson v. City of Edmond, 905 F.2d 1386, 1390 (10th Cir. 1990). “While a complaint attacked by a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss does not need detailed factual allegations, a plaintiff’s obligation to provide the grounds of his entitlement to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555 (quotations and citations omitted). The Court “will not supply additional factual allegations to round out a plaintiff’s complaint or construct a legal theory on a plaintiff’s behalf.” Whitney v. New Mexico, 113 F.3d 1170, 1173-74 (10th Cir. 1997). Plaintiff’s prolix complaint is disorganized and unclear. It appears, however, that his claims are divided into two categories: (1) the conditions of his confinement in the Pushmataha County Jail and (2) incidents related to his arrest and prosecution. Section 1983 is the proper cause of action for claims related to the conditions of a prisoner’s confinement. The Tenth Circuit has held that a 2 pretrial detainee’s claims regarding conditions of confinement are governed by the Due Process Clause, and that “the Eighth Amendment standard provides the benchmark for such claims.” Routt v. Howard, 764 F. App’x 762, 770 (10th Cir. 2019) (unpublished) (quoting Craig v. Eberly, 164 F.3d 490, 495 (10th Cir. 1998)). Plaintiff’s claims regarding his arrest and prosecution, however, are not appropriate for this civil rights action. He must present such claims in a petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241, after exhaustion of his state court remedies. See Montez v. McKinna, 208 F.3d 862, 866 (10th Cir. 2000). II. Improper Defendants As explained below, Plaintiff has named three improper defendants in his complaint: the State of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Attorney General, and the Pushmataha County Sheriff’s Department. A. The State of Oklahoma The Eleventh Amendment prevents Plaintiff from suing the State of Oklahoma without its unequivocal consent, and this prohibition encompasses suits against state agencies. See Guttman v. Khalsa, 669 F.3d 1101, 1110 (10th Cir. 2012) ( “Although a state may waive the sovereign immunity granted to it under the Eleventh Amendment, we require a showing of unequivocal intent to do so.”); Muscogee (Creek) Nation v. Okla. Tax Comm’n, 611 F.3d 1222, 1227 (10th Cir. 2010) (noting that the Eleventh Amendment’s protection encompasses States and state agencies). “Oklahoma has not waived sovereign immunity against § 1983 claims in federal district court.” Callahan v. Poppell, 471 F.3d 1155, 1159 (10th Cir. 2006). See also Okla. Stat. tit. 51 § 152.1. Therefore, the State of Oklahoma is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

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Related

Haines v. Kerner
404 U.S. 519 (Supreme Court, 1972)
Lewis v. Casey
518 U.S. 343 (Supreme Court, 1996)
Erickson v. Pardus
551 U.S. 89 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Muscogee (Creek) Nation v. Oklahoma Tax Commission
611 F.3d 1222 (Tenth Circuit, 2010)
Reid v. Hamby
124 F.3d 217 (Tenth Circuit, 1997)
Craig v. Eberly
164 F.3d 490 (Tenth Circuit, 1998)
Montez v. McKinna
208 F.3d 862 (Tenth Circuit, 2000)
Henry v. Albuquerque Police Department
49 F. App'x 272 (Tenth Circuit, 2002)
Callahan v. Poppell
471 F.3d 1155 (Tenth Circuit, 2006)
Kay v. Bemis
500 F.3d 1214 (Tenth Circuit, 2007)
Gallagher v. Shelton
587 F.3d 1063 (Tenth Circuit, 2009)
Wauford v. Richardson
450 F. App'x 698 (Tenth Circuit, 2011)
Ketchum v. Albuquerque Police Dept.
958 F.2d 381 (Tenth Circuit, 1992)
Guttman v. Khalsa
669 F.3d 1101 (Tenth Circuit, 2012)

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Bluebook (online)
Weinert v. Hedgecock, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/weinert-v-hedgecock-oked-2024.