Long v. Rodriguez
- Cathy Seibel
- 7:24-cv-05227
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Long v. Rodriguez, Judge Seibel ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to serve two defendants in Long’s prison-discipline due-process lawsuit.
Herbert Long, Anthony Rodriguez, and Wilfredo Perez. The Clerk of Court and the U.S. Marshals Service must take steps to serve the defendants, and Long must monitor the 90-day service period and report any address change.
What happened
Herbert Long, proceeding without a lawyer, sued Anthony Rodriguez and Wilfredo Perez under a federal civil-rights law. He alleges that they violated his constitutional right to fair procedures during a prison disciplinary hearing held from August 12 through August 26, 2022.
The court had already allowed Long to proceed without paying filing fees upfront and obtained service addresses for both defendants from the New York State Attorney General’s Office. Because Long received that permission, the court said he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to deliver the lawsuit papers.
Judge Seibel ordered the Clerk of Court to issue summonses and provide the necessary documents to the Marshals Service for service on Rodriguez and Perez. The order gives Long 90 days after the summonses are issued to complete service or request more time and requires him to notify the court of any address change.
The detailed version
- Long v. Rodriguez · No. 7:24-cv-05227
- Cathy Seibel
- Oct. 21, 2024
Background
Herbert Long, who is incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility and is representing himself, brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleges that Anthony Rodriguez and Wilfredo Perez violated his Fourteenth Amendment right to procedural due process during a disciplinary hearing held from August 12, 2022, through August 26, 2022. The opinion identifies Rodriguez as the former Director of Sing Sing’s Incarcerated Individual Disciplinary Program and Perez as the officer who conducted the hearing.
The court had previously granted Long permission to proceed without paying filing fees upfront. The court also directed the New York State Attorney General to provide service addresses for Rodriguez and Perez, and the Attorney General supplied those addresses on October 18, 2024.
Service ruling
Because Long was permitted to proceed without prepaying fees, the court determined that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants. Judge Seibel directed the Clerk of Court to issue summonses for Rodriguez and Perez, complete a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form for each defendant with the provided address, and deliver the necessary paperwork to the Marshals Service.
The court stated that Long should request an extension if the complaint is not served within 90 days after the summons is issued. It also stated that Long must notify the court in writing if his address changes and that the action may be dismissed if he does not do so. The opinion is an order concerning service of process; it does not decide whether Long’s due-process allegations are valid.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.