Bush v. The People of the State of New York

Background

Jahreek Bush, who was incarcerated as a federal detainee in the Westchester County Jail, filed the action without a lawyer. He alleged federal constitutional violations and sought damages. He also asked the court to order judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, arresting officers, investigators, and correctional officers involved in his case to be disbarred or terminated. The court had previously allowed him to proceed without paying filing fees in advance, subject to the statutory requirement that prisoners pay the filing fee over time.

The Prison Litigation Reform Act required the court to screen Bush’s complaint. At screening, the court had to dismiss claims that were frivolous, failed to state a legally sufficient claim, sought money from an immune defendant, or were outside the court’s subject-matter jurisdiction. The court was required to read a self-represented litigant’s allegations liberally, but the complaint still had to provide enough facts to make a claim plausible.

Claims the Court Dismissed

The court dismissed the claims against the United States because Bush identified no waiver of the federal government’s sovereign immunity. Sovereign immunity generally prevents lawsuits against the federal government unless it has consented to suit, and the court therefore also found that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over those claims.

The court treated Bush’s claims against the People of the State of New York as claims against New York under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal civil-rights law. It dismissed those claims under the Eleventh Amendment because New York had not waived its immunity and Congress had not removed that immunity for § 1983 claims.

The court dismissed the § 1983 claims against the New York State Police Liberty Barracks, New York State Troopers Headquarters, Sullivan Sheriff County Jail, and the Westchester County Jail. It concluded that these facilities or governmental units were not “persons” that could be sued under § 1983.

The court dismissed the damages claims against Sullivan County District Attorney Brian P. Conaty, Sullivan County Assistant District Attorneys Micheal Puma and Danielle Blackaby, Southern District of New York United States Attorney Damian Williams, and Assistant United States Attorneys Margaret Vasu and Kathryn Wheelock. The court held that prosecutorial immunity protected these defendants from damages claims arising from their decisions to prosecute Bush and their conduct in the state and federal criminal proceedings. The state-prosecutor claims were understood as § 1983 claims, and the federal-prosecutor claims were understood as claims under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics.

The court dismissed the § 1983 claims against the Counties of Sullivan and Westchester because Bush alleged no facts showing that a county policy, custom, or practice caused a constitutional violation. Because Bush was representing himself, the court granted him leave to file an amended complaint naming the counties and alleging facts sufficient to state § 1983 claims and, if appropriate, state-law claims.

The court dismissed the § 1983 claims against state-court defense attorney Karen Mannino and federal-court defense attorney Elizabeth K. Quinn because Bush alleged no facts showing that either attorney acted as a state actor. The court explained that representing a criminal defendant, whether privately, by appointment, or as a public defender, ordinarily does not constitute state action for § 1983 purposes. The court also noted that neither attorney was a federal official who could be sued under Bivens. The dismissal was without prejudice to possible state-law claims against these defendants in an amended complaint.

The court dismissed the § 1983 claims against Westchester County Jail Correctional Sergeant Crump and Westchester County Jail Correctional Captain Davis because Bush alleged no facts showing their direct and personal involvement in the claimed constitutional violations. The court dismissed those claims without prejudice to Bush naming Crump and Davis in an amended complaint that alleged sufficient facts under § 1983 and, if appropriate, state law.

The court also dismissed Bush’s requests for orders requiring people involved in his criminal cases to be disbarred or terminated because the court did not have authority to grant that relief.

Claims Allowed to Proceed and Service

The court construed Bush’s remaining claims against New York State Trooper Matthew Stone, New York State Trooper Micheal Lin, and New York State Police Investigator Joe Rodriguez as § 1983 claims alleging false arrest, malicious prosecution, and fabrication of evidence. The court did not dismiss those claims at the screening stage.

Because Bush had been allowed to proceed without paying filing fees in advance, the court directed the Clerk to issue summonses and complete service forms for Stone, Lin, and Rodriguez. The court directed the United States Marshals Service to serve the summonses and complaint. The court extended the service period to 90 days after the summonses were issued and stated that Bush would need to request an extension if service was not completed within that period.

Disposition

The court dismissed Bush’s claims against all defendants except Stone, Lin, and Rodriguez. It directed service on those three defendants. It also directed the Clerk to mail Bush an information package and warned that Bush must notify the court of any address change. Finally, the court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal.