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N.D. Cal.Procedural orderFiled Aug. 10, 2023

Wilson v. United States

Judge
Vince Chhabria
Docket
3:23-cv-03352
Court
U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
Pages
1
Civil ProcedurePro Se
In one sentence

In Wilson v. United States, Judge Chhabria dismissed Wilson’s lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction because it was obviously frivolous and could not be amended.

Who this affects

Jehoaddan Wilson’s civil-rights lawsuit against the United States was dismissed and the case was closed.

What happened

In Wilson v. United States, federal inmate Jehoaddan Wilson filed a civil-rights lawsuit without a lawyer against the United States. She challenged the fairness of her federal criminal case and sought money, release from prison, and court-ordered documents.

The court said it lacked authority to intervene in a federal criminal case pending before another district judge or the Court of Appeals. It dismissed the lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction because it was “obviously frivolous.”

Judge Chhabria dismissed the case without leave to amend, directed the clerk to enter a separate judgment, and ordered the case closed.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Wilson v. United States · No. 3:23-cv-03352
Judge
Vince Chhabria
Date
Aug. 10, 2023

Background

Jehoaddan Wilson, a federal inmate representing herself, filed a civil-rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the United States. The opinion says her claims were difficult to understand, but that she generally challenged the fairness of the proceedings in her federal criminal case. She disagreed with rulings by the district court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and believed the prosecution had violated the law. She sought money damages, release from prison, and an order requiring production of documents. The opinion states that an appeal in her criminal case was pending in the Ninth Circuit.

Court’s reasoning

The court dismissed the lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction because it was “obviously frivolous.” It said the court lacked authority to intervene in a federal criminal case pending before a different district judge and/or the Court of Appeals.

Disposition

The court dismissed the lawsuit without leave to amend. The clerk was directed to enter a separate judgment and close the case.

The authoritative version

Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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