Jackson v. City of Peekskill Police Department
- Vincent Briccetti
- 7:19-cv-10870
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Jackson v. City of Peekskill Police Department, Judge Briccetti ordered service of the constitutional-rights lawsuit and denied appeal fee-waiver status.
Walter J. Jackson, Detective Alvaro Farias, and the City of Peekskill; the order directs the Clerk of Court and the U.S. Marshals Service to carry out service.
What happened
Jackson v. City of Peekskill Police Department is a civil-rights lawsuit by Walter J. Jackson, who is representing himself. He alleges under a federal civil-rights law that Detective Alvaro Farias and the City of Peekskill violated his constitutional rights.
Because Jackson was allowed to proceed without paying filing fees, the court ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants. The court extended the service deadline to 90 days after the summonses are issued and instructed Jackson to notify the court if his address changes.
Judge Vincent L. Briccetti directed the Clerk of Court to issue the summonses and prepare the service paperwork. The court also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal from this order, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Jackson v. City of Peekskill Police Department · No. 7:19-cv-10870
- Vincent Briccetti
- Mar. 3, 2020
Background
Walter J. Jackson, proceeding without a lawyer, filed an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law that allows claims alleging violations of constitutional rights by state or local actors. He named Detective Alvaro Farias, Shield #103, and the City of Peekskill as defendants. The opinion states that Jackson had previously been allowed to proceed without paying filing fees and that he submitted an amended complaint.
Service of the lawsuit
Because Jackson was allowed to proceed without paying filing fees, the court explained that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the summonses and complaint. The court extended the time for service to 90 days after the summonses are issued. It stated that, if service is not completed within that period, Jackson should request an extension of time.
The court instructed the Clerk of Court to prepare a U.S. Marshals Service process form for each defendant, issue the summonses, and provide the Marshals Service with the documents needed to serve Detective Farias and the City of Peekskill. Jackson must notify the court in writing if his address changes, and the court stated that the action may be dismissed if he fails to do so.
Disposition
Judge Vincent L. Briccetti ordered the Clerk of Court to mail Jackson a copy of the order and an information package, issue the summonses, complete the service forms with the defendants’ addresses, and deliver the necessary documents to the Marshals Service. The order did not decide whether Jackson’s constitutional-rights claims are valid. The court also certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.