Graham v. New York City Department of Corrections

Background

Antonio Graham filed this self-represented action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law permitting claims for constitutional violations by government officials. The opinion states that Graham was incarcerated at the North Infirmary Command on Rikers Island. He named the New York City Department of Correction, Kisa Smalls, identified as the warden of the North Infirmary Command, the City of New York, and the New York State Division of Parole as defendants.

The court had already granted Graham permission to proceed without paying the filing fee at the start of the case. Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, the court was required to screen the complaint because Graham was incarcerated and sought relief from governmental defendants. The court explained that it had to dismiss claims that were frivolous, failed to state a legally sufficient claim, sought money from an immune defendant, or fell outside the court's subject-matter jurisdiction. It also explained that self-represented pleadings are read generously but still must provide enough facts to make a claim legally plausible.

Rulings

The court dismissed Graham's claims against the New York City Department of Correction because a New York City agency is not an entity that can be sued separately. The court also dismissed Graham's claims against the New York State Division of Parole. It held that state immunity generally protects states and their agencies from suit in federal court, that New York had not waived that immunity, and that Congress had not removed it when it enacted Section 1983.

For the claims involving the City of New York and Warden Kisa Smalls, the court directed the Clerk of Court to notify the New York City Department of Correction and the New York City Law Department. The court requested that the City and Smalls accept delivery of the summons and complaint. The opinion does not state a merits ruling on the allegations involving those defendants.

Disposition

Judge Katherine Polk Failla dismissed Graham's claims against the Department of Correction and the New York State Division of Parole. The court directed the Clerk to mail Graham a copy of the order and an information package and to electronically notify the identified city offices. The court certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal. The opinion does not add a with-prejudice or without-prejudice qualifier to the dismissals.