ABBOTT v. TRANT, No. 1:2009cv02337 - Document 3 (D.D.C. 2009)
Court Description: MEMORANDUM OPINION Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on 12/3/09. (ls, )
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¢ I ill _ II He 44 fILED UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Norman Abbott, Plaintiff, v. Heather Trant, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) DEC· 9 2009 Clerk, U.S. District and Bankruptcy Courts Civil Action No. 09 2337 MEMORANDUM OPINION Before the Court is the plaintiff s pro se complaint and application to proceed in forma pauperis. The application will be granted and the complaint will be dismissed because it fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Plaintiff has filed a Bivens action, alleging that a clerk in the office of the Clerk of Court of the Supreme Court of the United States violated his civil rights by denying him access to the Supreme Court when she returned his submission with instructions and forms for filing a writ of certiorari. He further complains that the defendant interfered with his Seventh Amendment right to have his suit tried to a jury. He seeks compensatory and punitive damages from the clerk. A clerk is generally immune from a suit for damages. See Sindram v. Suda, 986 F.2d 339 (D.C. Cir. 1992) (per curiam) (holding that "clerks, like judges, are immune from damage suits for performance of tasks that are an integral part of the judicial process"). Furthermore, the plaintiff has not stated a claim upon which relief may be granted, as he does not have a right to have his case heard in the Supreme Court of the United States. \ A separate appropriate order accompanies th· 30S:
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