LONG v. WHITE et al, No. 1:2012cv00032 - Document 4 (S.D. Ind. 2012)

Court Description: ENTRY Concerning Selected Matters and Directing Further Proceedings - The plaintiff's request to proceed in forma pauperis, dkt 2 , is GRANTED. The assessment of even an initial partial filing fee is not feasible at this time. Claims against the John and Jane Doe defendants (all two hundred of them) must be dismissed. Claims against Mayor Greg Ballard are also dismissed. No partial final judgment shall issue at this time as to the claims resolved in this Entry. The clerk is designat ed to issue and serve process on the remaining defendants in the manner specified by Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(d)(1). Process shall consist of the complaint, applicable forms and this Entry. (copy to Plaintiff via US Mail). Signed by Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson on 1/19/2012. (JKS)

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LONG v. WHITE et al Doc. 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA BOBBY RAY LONG, Plaintiff, vs. CHRISTOPHER WHITE, et al., Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) 1:12-cv-32-JMS-MJD Entry Concerning Selected Matters and Directing Further Proceedings The court, having considered the above action and the matters which are pending, makes the following rulings: 1. The plaintiff= request to proceed in forma pauperis (dkt 2) is granted. s The assessment of even an initial partial filing fee is not feasible at this time. 2. Plaintiff Bobby Ray Long filed this civil action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Mr. Long alleges that his Fourteenth Amendment due process rights were violated while he was a pre-trial detainee at the Marion County Jail. Specifically he was denied medical treatment and subjected to “cruel conditions of confinement.” The defendants in this action are the following: Christopher White, John Layton, Greg Ballard, Kenneth Whipker, Lee Hoard, “John and Jane Doe Numbers One through Two Hundred.” 3. The complaint is now subject to the screening requirement of 28 U.S.C. ' 1915(e). Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. ' 1915(e)(2)(B), a court shall dismiss a case at any time if the court determines that the action (i) is frivolous or malicious; (ii) fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted; or (iii) seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief. 4. Applying this standard, claims against the John and Jane Doe defendants (all two hundred of them) must be dismissed, because A it is pointless to include [an] anonymous defendant[ ] in federal court; this type of placeholder does not open the door to relation back under Fed.R.Civ.P. 15, nor can it otherwise help the plaintiff.@ Wudtke v. Davel, 128 F.3d 1057, 1060 (7th Cir. 1997) (internal citations omitted). Dockets.Justia.com 5. Claims against Mayor Greg Ballard are also dismissed. There is no plausible connection between the constitutional violations alleged in the complaint and Mayor Ballard. This is because the Mayor is not responsible for the care of prisoners within the jail. It is the Sheriff upon whom Indiana law imposes a duty to administer jails and care for prisoners. Donahue v. St. Joseph County, 720 N.E.2d 1236, 1240 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999) (county does not owe duty of care when jail inmate is injured as a result of the manner in which jail is administered rather than by a defect in the facility); Weatherholt v. Spencer County, 639 N.E.2d 354, 356 (Ind.Ct.App. 1994) (A it is the sheriff who is charged with a statutory duty to administer the jail in a manner which preserves the safety of inmates@ ); IND. CODE ' 36-2-13-5(a)(7) (listing duties of the sheriff); Estate of Drayton v. Nelson, 53 F.3d 165, 167 (7th Cir. 1994) (A Marion County has no authority over the Sheriff and his deputies . . . .@ ). 6. No partial final judgment shall issue at this time as to the claims resolved in this Entry. 7. The clerk is designated, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(c)(3), to issue and serve process on the remaining defendants in the manner specified by Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(d)(1). Process shall consist of the complaint, applicable forms and this Entry. IT IS SO ORDERED. 01/19/2012 Date: _____________________ _______________________________ Hon. Jane Magnus-Stinson, Judge United States District Court Southern District of Indiana Distribution: Bobby Ray Long 842 North Dequincy Street Indianapolis, IN 46201 Christopher White Indianapolis Metropolitan Police 200 East Washington Street Indianapolis, IN 46204 John Layton Marion County Sheriff 40 South Alabama Street Indianapolis, IN 46204 Kenneth Whipker Marion County Jail 40 S. Alabama Street Indianapolis, IN 46204 Lee Hoard Marion County Jail 40 S. Alabama Street Indianapolis, IN 46204

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