Jones v. Westchester County Department of Corrections

Background

Steven A. Jones, Jr., who the opinion says was detained by the Westchester County Department of Corrections, filed this case without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that the defendants violated his constitutional rights. The court had previously allowed him to proceed without paying the filing fee upfront.

The defendants named in the complaint were the Westchester County Department of Corrections; Joseph K. Spano, identified as Commissioner of Corrections; Herbert Stoddard, identified as a physician and Well Path representative; and George Latimer, identified as County Executive of Department of Corrections.

Screening Standard

The Prison Litigation Reform Act requires federal courts to screen complaints filed by prisoners seeking relief from a governmental entity or a government officer or employee. The court must dismiss a complaint, or part of it, if it is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim for relief, seeks money from a defendant who is immune from that relief, or falls outside the court’s subject-matter jurisdiction.

The court also explained that it must read filings submitted without a lawyer generously and identify the strongest claims they suggest. But such complaints must still provide enough factual matter to make a claim plausible under Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Department of Corrections

The court dismissed Jones’s claims against the Westchester County Department of Corrections under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). It relied on New York law providing that municipal departments and agencies that are only administrative arms of a municipality do not have a separate legal identity and cannot sue or be sued.

Because Jones was proceeding without a lawyer and clearly intended to assert claims against Westchester County, the court construed the complaint as asserting those claims against the county. It directed the clerk to amend the caption and substitute Westchester County for the department. The opinion states that this amendment was without prejudice to any defenses Westchester County might later assert; it does not state that the dismissal of the department claims was with or without prejudice.

Service of Process

Because Jones had been allowed to proceed without paying the filing fee upfront, the court ordered the clerk to prepare summonses and U.S. Marshals Service process forms for Westchester County, Joseph K. Spano, Herbert Stoddard, and George Latimer. The clerk was directed to provide the necessary paperwork to the Marshals Service so it could serve those defendants.

The court extended the service deadline to 90 days after the summonses were issued. It stated that Jones should request an extension if service was not completed within that period. The court also required Jones to notify it in writing of any address change and stated that the action could be dismissed if he failed to do so.

Disposition

The court dismissed the claims against the Westchester County Department of Corrections, substituted Westchester County as a defendant, and ordered preparation of the documents needed for service on Westchester County and the three individual defendants. The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying the filing fee for purposes of an appeal.

Judge Philip M. Halpern’s order did not decide whether Jones’s alleged constitutional violations occurred or whether the remaining defendants were liable.