Jaime v. New York State Officers

Background

Luis Jaime, who the opinion says was incarcerated at Sullivan Correctional Facility, brought the action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law allowing certain civil-rights claims against state actors. He alleged that events occurred in the “Manhattan courts” on September 30, 2023. The caption listed New York State Officers and several other generically named defendants. The opinion describes the relevant unidentified defendants as four court officers who allegedly saw Jaime fall down a flight of stairs while handcuffed, left him on the floor for an hour, and ignored his requests for medical attention.

The court had previously granted Jaime permission to proceed without paying the filing fee in advance. The opinion noted that incarcerated people still must pay the full filing fee over time even when that permission is granted.

Identification of Unnamed Defendants

The court applied the rule that a person proceeding without a lawyer is entitled to help from the district court in identifying a defendant. It found that Jaime’s complaint appeared to provide enough information for the New York State Attorney General’s Office—which the opinion identifies as the attorney for and agent of the New York State Unified Court System—to identify the four unnamed court officers and determine where each could be served with the lawsuit.

The order requires the New York State Attorney General’s Office to provide the officers’ identities and service addresses to Jaime and the court within 60 days of the order. Within 30 days after receiving that information, Jaime must file an amended complaint naming the officers. The amended complaint will replace, rather than supplement, the original complaint.

Next Steps and Disposition

After Jaime files the amended complaint, the court will screen it. If necessary, the court may then direct the Clerk of Court to prepare service forms with the defendants’ addresses and send the documents needed for service to the United States Marshals Service.

The court directed the Clerk to mail the order and complaint to the New York State Attorney General’s Office and to mail an information package to Jaime. It also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying fees. The order did not decide the merits of Jaime’s civil-rights allegations.