Carter v. 1 John Doe [Black Male]

Background

David Carter, who is incarcerated at Marcy Correctional Facility, filed this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the federal civil-rights law that allows claims against state actors. He alleged that correction officers interfered with his legal mail while he was incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility in 2021. Carter was proceeding without a lawyer and had been allowed to proceed without paying the filing fee.

Earlier dismissal and reconsideration ruling

The court previously dismissed the complaint without prejudice under the Prison Litigation Reform Act’s three-strikes rule. That rule generally bars a prisoner with three qualifying prior dismissals from filing a new action without paying the filing fee, unless the complaint shows that the prisoner faced imminent danger of serious physical injury when the action was filed. The court found that Carter’s allegations about legal mail at Green Haven did not show such danger while he was incarcerated at Marcy.

Carter later sought reconsideration and argued that threats of physical harm at Marcy established imminent danger. The court denied reconsideration because those alleged threats were unrelated to the legal-mail claims arising from events at Green Haven four years earlier, and the defendants in this action were not Marcy employees.

Second Circuit ruling and action on remand

The Second Circuit vacated the judgment and sent the case back. It agreed that Carter was subject to the three-strikes rule and that his original complaint did not allege imminent danger when filed. It directed the district court to allow Carter to amend his complaint to address the imminent-danger exception and the required connection between the claims and the alleged danger.

Current order

The court directed the Clerk of Court to vacate the prior dismissal order and judgment and to reopen the action. It granted Carter 60 days to file an amended complaint addressing the imminent-danger exception and the required connection between his claims and the alleged danger. The court also noted that allegations concerning events at Marcy would be brought in the wrong federal district because Marcy is in Oneida County, which is within the Northern District of New York. The order stated that Carter could instead withdraw this action and file a new complaint in that district.

Finally, the court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the filing fee. The order did not decide whether Carter ultimately meets the imminent-danger exception or whether his legal-mail claims have merit.