Bishop v. Dart et al, No. 1:2010cv04031 - Document 4 (N.D. Ill. 2010)
Court Description: WRITTEN Opinion: Plaintiff's motion for leave to file in forma pauperis 3 is granted. The Court authorizes and orders Cook County Jail officials to deduct $6.00 from Plaintiff's account, and to continue making monthly deductions in a ccordance with this order. The Clerk shall send a copy of this order to the Supervisor of Inmate Trust Fund Accounts, Cook County Dept. of Corrections Administrative Office, Division V, 2700 S. California, Chicago, IL 60608. However, summonses shall not issue at this time. The complaint on file is dismissed without prejudice. Plaintiff is granted thirty days to submit an amended complaint (plus a judge's copy and service copies). The Clerk is directed to provide Plaintiff an amended civil rights complaint form with instructions. Failure to submit an amended complaint within thirty days of the date of this order will result in summary dismissal of this case in its entirety. Signed by the Honorable Ruben Castillo on 7/6/2010. [For further details see minute order.] Mailed notice (ber, ) Modified on 7/7/2010 (ber, ).
Download PDF
<![CDATA[
Order Form (01/2005) United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois Name of Assigned Judge or Magistrate Judge Ruben Castillo CASE NUMBER 10 C 4031 CASE TITLE Sitting Judge if Other than Assigned Judge DATE 7/6/2010 Bartholomew Bishop (#2009-1018059) vs. Dart, et al. DOCKET ENTRY TEXT Plaintiff s motion for leave to file in forma pauperis [3] is granted. The Court authorizes and orders Cook County Jail officials to deduct $6.00 from Plaintiff s account, and to continue making monthly deductions in accordance with this order. The Clerk shall send a copy of this order to the Supervisor of Inmate Trust Fund Accounts, Cook County Dept. of Corrections Administrative Office, Division V, 2700 S. California, Chicago, IL 60608. However, summonses shall not issue at this time. The complaint on file is dismissed without prejudice. Plaintiff is granted thirty days to submit an amended complaint (plus a judge s copy and service copies). The Clerk is directed to provide Plaintiff an amended civil rights complaint form with instructions. Failure to submit an amended complaint within thirty days of the date of this order will result in summary dismissal of this case in its entirety. O[For further details see text below.] Docketing to mail notices. STATEMENT Plaintiff, Bartholomew Bishop, a pretrial detainee at Cook County Jail, brings this pro se civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff s motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis is granted. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1), Plaintiff is assessed an initial partial filing fee of $6.00. The supervisor of inmate trust accounts at the Cook County Jail is authorized and ordered to collect, when funds exist, the partial filing fee from Plaintiff s trust fund account and pay it directly to the Clerk of Court. After payment of the initial partial filing fee, Plaintiff s trust fund officer is directed to collect monthly payments from Plaintiff s trust fund account in an amount equal to 20% of the preceding month s income credited to the account. Monthly payments shall be forwarded to the Clerk of Court each time the amount in the account exceeds $10 until the full $350 filing fee is paid. All payments shall be sent to the Clerk, United States District Court, 219 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, Illinois 60604, attn: Cashier s Desk, 20th Floor, and shall clearly identify Plaintiff s name and the case number assigned to this action. The Cook County inmate trust account office shall notify transferee authorities of any outstanding balance in the event Plaintiff is transferred from the jail to another correctional facility. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, the Court is required to conduct a prompt review of the complaint. Plaintiff alleges that he suffers from a mental illness and that he is housed in Division 10, Unit 4C at Cook County Jail. He alleges that he is treated differently than other Division 10 psychi pretrial detainees because he does not receive treatment by his psychiatrist and psychologist like the other detainees in Division 10 whom receive treatment on a daily basis. He also alleges that he has not received a blood test since being prescribed psycho tropic medication and that the psychiatrists and psychologists do not treat the pretrial detainees correctly. He specifically pleads that the administration is violating his equal protection rights as a class of one because he is treated differently than other psych detainees. Plaintiff names Sheriff Tom Dart, Superintendent Martinez, and Director Salvador Godinez, in both their individual and official capacities, as Defendants. Plaintiff s complaint must be dismissed because it fails to allege a claim upon which relief can granted against the named Defendants. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the Page 1 of 2 STATEMENT pleader is entitled to relief, in order to give the defendant fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which it rests. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. ___, ___, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1964 (2007) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47, (1957)). To satisfy the notice pleading requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2), the plaintiff need only state his legal claim and provide some indication . . . of time and place. Thompson v. Washington, 362 F.3d 969, 971 (7th Cir. 2004). It is not clear exactly what claim(s) Plaintiff is attempting to bring, other than an equal protection claim based on a class of one. However, Plaintiff does not identify the dates of the alleged constitution violation(s) and does not identify any of the named Defendants in his allegations. Liability under the Civil Rights Act requires a defendant s personal involvement in the alleged constitutional violation. See Palmer v. Marion County, 327 F.3d 588, 594 (7th Cir. 2003). Section 1983 creates a cause of action based on personal liability and predicated upon fault; thus, to be liable under § 1983, an individual defendant must have caused or participated in a constitutional deprivation. Pepper v. Village of Oak Park, 430 F.3d 809, 810 (7th Cir. 2005) (citations omitted). Although direct participation is not required, there must be at least a showing that the individual acquiesced in some demonstrable manner in the alleged constitutional violation. See Palmer, 327 F.3d at 594. For a supervisor, the personnel responsibility requirement of Section 1983 for an official is satisfied if the conduct causing the constitutional violation occurs at the supervisors direction or with his knowledge and consent. See Hildebrandt v. Illinois Dep t of Natural Resources, 347 F.3d 1014, 1039 (7th Cir. 2003). The supervisor must know about the conduct and facilitate it, approve it, condone it, or turn a blind eye. In short, some casual connection or affirmative link between the action complained about and the official sued is necessary for §1983 recovery. Hildebrandt, 347 F.3d at 1039 (quoting Gentry v. Duckworth, 65 F.3d 555, 561 (7th Cir. 1995)). Plaintiff does not make any allegations of personal involvement by any of the named Defendants, thus, he has failed to state a claim against any of the Defendants in their individual capacities. Furthermore, Plaintiff has not alleged an official capacity claim against the Defendants. Claims filed against government officers in their official capacity are actually claims against the government entity for which the officers work. See Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 167 (1985); Guzman v. Sheahan, 495 F.3d 852, 859 (7th Cir. 2007). A governmental entity is liable for damages under Section 1983 only if the plaintiff can show that the alleged constitutional deprivation occurred as a result of an official policy, custom, or practice. See Monell v. Department of Social Serv., 436 U.S. 658, 692 (1978) Unconstitutional policies or customs generally take three forms: (1) an express policy that, when enforced, causes a constitutional deprivation; (2) a widespread practice that, although not authorized by written law or express municipal policy, is so permanent and well settled as to constitute a usage or custom with the force of law; or (3) a constitutional injury was caused by a person with final policy-making authority. Brokaw v. Mercer County, 235 F.3d 1000, 1013 (7th Cir.2000). Plaintiff does not plead a policy, custom, or practice to hold the supervisory officials liable in their official capacity. In addition, an allegation that he is treated differently than all others is contrary to any allegation of a custom or policy. Thus, Plaintiff has failed to plead any claims against the named Defendants in their official capacities. For the foregoing reasons, the Court dismisses the complaint on file without prejudice. Plaintiff is granted thirty days in which to submit an amended complaint. Plaintiff must write both the case number and the judge s name on the amended complaint, sign it, and return it to the Prisoner Correspondent. As with every document filed with the court, Plaintiff must provide an extra copy for the judge; he must also submit a sufficient number of copies for service on each Defendant named in the amended complaint. Plaintiff is cautioned that an amended pleading supersedes the original complaint and must stand complete on its own. Therefore, all allegations must be set forth in the amended complaint, without reference to the original complaint. Any exhibits Plaintiff wants the court to consider in its threshold review of the amended complaint must be attached, and each copy of the amended complaint must include complete copies of any and all exhibits. The Clerk will provide Plaintiff with an amended complaint form and instructions. If Plaintiff fails to comply within thirty days, the case will be summarily dismissed on the understanding that Plaintiff does not wish to pursue his claims in federal court at this time. Page 2 of 2
]]>
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You
should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
