Markham v. Hennepin County Clerk Office

Background

Oji Konata Markham applied to proceed without paying filing fees. In her complaint, she alleged that Hennepin County Clerk Office and Sara Gonsalves failed to file certain exhibits in a proceeding pending before the Hennepin County Conciliation Court in which she was a party. She alleged that the failure caused that proceeding to resolve unfavorably to her and sought $30 million in damages.

Markham cited 18 U.S.C. §§ 2071 and 2076 and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Section 1983 generally permits a person to seek relief when someone acting under state law deprives the person of a federal constitutional or statutory right.

Court’s analysis

The court stated that it must deny an application to proceed without paying filing fees and dismiss the action if the complaint fails to state a claim for which relief can be granted. The court also noted that it must dismiss an action if it lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, meaning authority to hear the case.

The court concluded that 18 U.S.C. §§ 2071 and 2076 are federal criminal statutes and do not provide private individuals with a right to bring civil lawsuits. It therefore held that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over claims based directly on those statutes.

The court also concluded that the complaint did not state a claim under § 1983. To the extent Markham sought to enforce §§ 2071 and 2076 through § 1983, the court reasoned that those criminal statutes were not intended to benefit her. The court further stated that Markham did not identify another federal right that the defendants allegedly violated.

Disposition

The court dismissed Markham’s complaint with prejudice. It denied her application to proceed without paying filing fees as moot. The order was signed by Judge Jeffrey M. Bryan.