Williams v. Hartsell

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Decided: November 26, 2024
• Docket: 23-2283
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS NOV 26 2024 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

TIMOTHY HUNTLEY WILLIAMS, No. 23-2283 D.C. No. 2:23-cv-00630-SPL--ESW Plaintiff - Appellant,

v. MEMORANDUM*

ROGER HARTSELL, Commissioner at Maricopa County Superior Court; JAY ROCK, Public Defender at Maricopa County Superior Court; UNKNOWN SPIRES, Mesa Police Officer at Mesa Police Department; MARICOPA COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT; MESA POLICE DEPARTMENT; COUNTY OF MARICOPA; MARICOPA COUNTY PROBATION OFFICE, named as: Adult Probation Department,

Defendants - Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona Steven Paul Logan, District Judge, Presiding

Submitted November 20, 2024**

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). Before: CANBY, TALLMAN, and CLIFTON, Circuit Judges.

Timothy Huntley Williams appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment

dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging constitutional claims. We have

jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo a dismissal under 28

U.S.C. § 1915A. Wilhelm v. Rotman, 680 F.3d 1113, 1118 (9th Cir. 2012). We

affirm.

The district court properly dismissed Williams’s action because defendant

Hartsell is entitled to absolute judicial immunity and Williams failed to allege facts

sufficient show that defendant Spires arrested Williams without probable cause or

that defendant Rock was acting under color of state law. See Polk County v.

Dodson, 454 U.S. 312, 318-19, 325 (1981) (explaining that a private attorney or

public defender does not act under color of state law within the meaning of

§ 1983); Yousefian v. City of Glendale, 779 F.3d 1010, 1014 (9th Cir. 2015)

(explaining that the “absence of probable cause is a necessary element of [a]

§ 1983 false arrest” claim); Duvall v. County of Kitsap, 260 F.3d 1124, 1133 (9th

Cir. 2001) (describing factors relevant to whether an act is judicial in nature and

subject to absolute judicial immunity).

We reject as unsupported by the record Williams’s contentions that the

district court was biased against him.

We do not consider arguments and allegations raised for the first time on

2 23-2283 appeal. See Padgett v. Wright, 587 F.3d 983, 985 n.2 (9th Cir. 2009).

Williams’s “motion to challenge jurisdiction” (Docket Entry No. 13) is

denied.

AFFIRMED.

3 23-2283