Moses v. District of Columbia

Background

David John Moses was confined at Napa State Hospital and proceeded without a lawyer. The opinion notes that he had been confined at Marin County Jail when he filed the complaint. He brought the action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law that permits claims against a person acting under state law for violating rights secured by the Constitution or federal law. The court had separately allowed him to proceed without paying the filing fee.

Screening standard

Because Moses was a prisoner suing governmental entities and officials, the court conducted an initial review under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. That law requires dismissal of claims that are frivolous, fail to state a claim for relief, or seek money from an immune defendant. The court also said that self-represented pleadings must be read liberally, but a complaint must still include enough factual material to make a plausible claim and must satisfy the requirement for a short and plain statement showing entitlement to relief.

Claims and analysis

Moses sued the District of Columbia “Corporation” based on allegations involving a “globalist flag,” the Bank of London, and the United Nations. He also sued the United States “Corporation,” alleging that the United States was a corporation created in 1871 and that federal authorities were not following the Constitution or the rule of law. The court held that these allegations lacked any factual basis and rested on an indisputably meritless legal theory. It dismissed those claims as frivolous.

Moses also alleged that San Rafael police officers arrested him on two occasions, seized his car, took him to jail, required him to sign papers, and arrested him after an altercation. He asserted claims including assault, theft, kidnapping, copyright infringement, extortion, and identity theft, and argued that the officers lacked jurisdiction over him. He alleged that District Attorney Lori Furgoli filed false charges, that Marin County Superior Court Judge Paul Haakenson improperly found him mentally incompetent to stand trial and sent him to Napa State Hospital, and that Marin County and Executive Officer James M. Kim were responsible for problems involving incoming mail and charges to his jail trust account.

The court stated that Moses had made these same claims in a prior related proceeding, No. 22-3206 JSC. It explained that a self-represented prisoner complaint filed without the filing fee that merely repeats pending or previously litigated claims may be dismissed during initial review as an abuse of the judicial process. The court dismissed these remaining claims on that basis.

Disposition

Judge Jacquelyn Scott Corley dismissed the complaint because it did not state a claim upon which relief could be granted and ordered the file closed. The opinion does not specify whether the dismissal was with or without prejudice.