In re: Jesus Torres

Background

Jesus Torres commenced this pro se action by sending a letter to the court while held at the Orange County Jail. He later submitted five additional letters, including letters sent after his conviction from the Elmira Correctional Facility. The court treated all of the letters as one original complaint.

Torres named no defendants or respondents. The court understood his letters to raise four groups of claims: challenges to his prosecution and conviction; claims about conditions at the Orange County Jail; claims about conditions at Green Haven Correctional Facility; and claims concerning officials’ alleged monitoring of his minor children. He sought damages, injunctive or declaratory relief, dismissal of his conviction, and “full parental custody.” The court had previously allowed him to proceed without prepaying fees, but explained that prisoners remain responsible for the filing fee.

Rule 20 and Required Separation of Claims

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20 allows defendants to be joined in one action when the claims arise from the same transaction or occurrence, or related transactions or occurrences, and share a common legal or factual question. The court found that none of Torres’s four groups of claims was related to the others. It therefore directed him to select one group for this action. He could pursue the other groups in separate actions.

Requirements for an Amended Civil Complaint

If Torres chose to pursue damages, injunctive relief, or declaratory relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 or state law, the court granted him leave to file an amended complaint. The complaint must identify Torres as the plaintiff, name the defendants he wishes to sue, be labeled “Amended Complaint,” and include docket number 1:24-CV-0411 (LTS). It must also provide short and plain statements explaining the court’s jurisdiction, the facts supporting his claims, and the relief he seeks.

Requirements for an Amended Habeas Petition

If Torres chose to challenge his state-court conviction or sentence, the court granted him leave to file an amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The petition must name the state officer who has custody of him as the respondent, identify all grounds for relief, state the supporting facts and requested relief, be printed, typewritten, or legibly handwritten, and be signed under penalty of perjury. Torres also had to allege facts showing that he had first exhausted available state-court remedies. The court noted that he had not alleged such exhaustion.

Torres could not pursue both alternatives in this action. Filing an amended complaint would abandon the habeas claims in this action, while filing an amended habeas petition would abandon the § 1983 and state-law claims in this action. The court stated that either type of claim could be asserted in a separate action. It also directed Torres not to repeat claims already asserted in other pending federal civil actions.

Disposition

The court granted Torres leave to file either an amended complaint or an amended habeas petition within 60 days. If he failed to comply and could not show good cause, the court stated that the relevant claims would be dismissed without prejudice. No summonses would issue at that time. The court also declined to issue a certificate of appealability because Torres had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied, and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide the merits of Torres’s underlying claims.