Brandon v. Sherburne County Sheriff

Background

Morris Lee Brandon III filed an amended complaint asserting a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law that allows claims for violations of constitutional rights by officials acting under state law. The magistrate judge recommended dismissing the amended complaint during the required prisoner-claim screening because it failed to state a claim. The recommendation also proposed denying Brandon’s motion to appoint counsel and his application to proceed without paying the filing fee as moot.

Objections and Analysis

Brandon objected to the recommendation. He challenged the conclusion that he had failed to state a claim, but he also acknowledged that he could not state a claim because he lacked access to video footage that he said would support his § 1983 claim. He repeated allegations from the amended complaint and discussed constitutional protections. He also cited legal rules concerning summary judgment and qualified immunity. The court found those rules unrelated to the analysis supporting dismissal and concluded that Brandon had not shown that his amended complaint alleged sufficient facts.

The court conducted de novo review of the challenged portions of the recommendation, meaning it independently reviewed those issues. It agreed that the amended complaint failed to state a claim under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), the statute governing screening of certain prisoner complaints.

Ruling

The court overruled Brandon’s objections and adopted the report and recommendation. It dismissed the amended complaint without prejudice. It denied Brandon’s motion to appoint counsel as moot and denied his application to proceed without paying the filing fee as moot.

The court also ordered Brandon to pay the unpaid balance of the action’s statutory filing fee, $338.85, under the payment procedure in 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). The clerk was directed to notify the authorities at the institution where Brandon is confined. Judgment was ordered to be entered.