Williams v. Lohard
- Philip Halpern
- 7:20-cv-10571
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Williams v. Lohard, Judge Halpern ordered service through the Marshals Service and required identification of the John Doe officer.
Dominique D. Williams; Officer/Lt. Lohard; the unidentified Newburgh police officer; the City of Newburgh; the City’s Corporation Counsel; the Clerk of Court; and the U.S. Marshals Service.
What happened
Williams v. Lohard is a pro se constitutional-rights case brought by Dominique D. Williams against Officer/Lt. Lohard, a John Doe Newburgh police officer, and the City of Newburgh. The court had already allowed Williams to proceed without paying filing fees in advance.
The court directed the Clerk of Court to issue summonses and prepare service forms so the U.S. Marshals Service could serve Officer Lohard and the City of Newburgh. The court extended the service deadline to 90 days after the summonses are issued and told Williams to notify the court if his address changes.
Judge Philip M. Halpern also ordered the City of Newburgh’s Corporation Counsel to identify the John Doe officer, including the officer’s badge number and service address, within 60 days. The court did not decide whether Williams’s constitutional claims were valid.
The detailed version
- Williams v. Lohard · No. 7:20-cv-10571
- Philip Halpern
- Mar. 18, 2021
Background
Dominique D. Williams, who was detained at Orange County Jail, filed this pro se action alleging that Officer/Lt. Lohard, a John Doe officer of the Newburgh Police Department, and the City of Newburgh violated his constitutional rights. The court had previously granted Williams permission to proceed without paying filing fees in advance.
Service of the Complaint
Because Williams was proceeding without prepaying fees, the court explained that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants. The court extended the usual service period so that the 90-day period would begin when the summonses were issued, rather than when the complaint was filed. If service was not completed within that period, Williams was told to request an extension.
The Clerk of Court was directed to prepare U.S. Marshals Service process forms, issue summonses, and give the Marshals Service the documents needed to serve Officer Lohard and the City of Newburgh. Williams was also required to notify the court in writing if his address changed, and the court stated that the action could be dismissed if he failed to do so.
Identification of the John Doe Defendant
The court issued an order requiring the City of Newburgh’s Corporation Counsel to identify the John Doe officer. The complaint provided enough information for the Newburgh Police Department to identify the officer who interacted with Williams on November 3, 2018, in the City of Newburgh. Corporation Counsel was ordered to provide the officer’s identity, badge number, and service address to Williams and the court within 60 days.
Once the officer was identified, the court stated that it would treat the complaint as amended and issue another service order for that defendant.
Disposition
Judge Philip M. Halpern ordered the Clerk to mail the order and an information package to Williams, send the order and complaint to the City of Newburgh’s Corporation Counsel, and provide the necessary service materials to the U.S. Marshals Service. This order addressed service and identification of a defendant; it did not resolve the merits of Williams’s constitutional claims.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.