Lucien v. Williams
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:20-cv-08020
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 6
In Lucien v. Williams, Judge Karas added Beverly Lockwood for service, ordered service on two defendants, and denied counsel without prejudice.
Leonidas Lucien remains able to pursue the action against Emily Williams and Beverly Lockwood, with service arranged through the U.S. Marshals Service. The John Doe defendants were not identified, and Lucien’s request for appointed counsel was denied without prejudice to renewal.
What happened
Lucien v. Williams is Leonidas Lucien’s lawsuit claiming that officials were keeping him in custody beyond the maximum expiration date of his sentence. He brought the case without a lawyer under a federal civil-rights law and had permission to proceed without paying fees in advance.
The court added Beverly Lockwood, an Offender Record Coordinator, as a defendant and directed the Clerk’s Office and U.S. Marshals Service to prepare and serve papers on Lockwood and Emily Williams. The court did not seek the identities of the John Doe defendants because Lucien provided no allegations or information sufficient to identify them.
Judge Kenneth M. Karas denied Lucien’s request for a lawyer without prejudice to renewing it later. The order addressed screening and case administration; it did not decide whether Lucien was being held beyond his sentence, and it denied fee-free status for any appeal from the order.
The detailed version
- Lucien v. Williams · No. 7:20-cv-08020
- Kenneth Karas
- June 17, 2021
Background
Leonidas Lucien, who was incarcerated at Fishkill Correctional Facility, filed this action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that the defendants were holding him in custody beyond the maximum expiration date of his sentence. The court had previously allowed him to proceed without paying the filing fee in advance, although the order explained that prisoners remain responsible for the full filing fee.
Adding Beverly Lockwood
Lucien made allegations against Beverly Lockwood, identified as the Offender Record Coordinator. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 21, the court directed the Clerk of Court to add “Beverly Lockwood, Offender Record Coordinator” as a defendant. The court stated that this addition was without prejudice to any defenses Lockwood might assert.
Service of Process
Because Lucien was allowed to proceed without prepaying fees, the court directed the U.S. Marshals Service to serve Emily Williams, the Acting Superintendent of Fishkill Correctional Facility, and Beverly Lockwood. The Clerk of Court was instructed to prepare the required service forms, issue summonses, and provide the Marshals Service with the necessary documents.
The court extended the deadline for service until 90 days after the summonses were issued. It also directed Lucien to notify the court in writing if his address changed and stated that the action could be dismissed if he failed to do so.
John Doe Defendants
The court declined at that time to seek the identities of John Doe Defendants 1 and 2. It found that Lucien had not made allegations against them or provided enough information for their attorneys or agents to identify them.
Request for Counsel
Lucien asked the court to appoint a lawyer. The court considered that the merits of the case could not yet be assessed because the action was at an early stage. Judge Kenneth M. Karas therefore denied the request for counsel without prejudice to renewal at a later date.
Disposition
The order directed the Clerk of Court to add Beverly Lockwood as a defendant and to arrange service on Williams and Lockwood through the U.S. Marshals Service. It denied Lucien’s request for counsel without prejudice to renewal. It also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. The order did not resolve the merits of Lucien’s allegation that his custody exceeded his sentence.
Read the full 6-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.