Opinion
No. 1:20-cv-01020-JPH-MJD
07-10-2020
PETER BROWN, Plaintiff, v. STATE OF INDIANA, FISCHER Sgt. of IMPD, Defendants.
ORDER
I. Granting in forma pauperis status
Mr. Brown's motion to proceed in forma pauperis, dkt. [2], is GRANTED. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). While in forma pauperis status allows Mr. Brown to proceed without prepaying the filing fee, he remains liable for the full fees. Ross v. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chi., 748 F. App'x 64, 65 (7th Cir. Jan. 15, 2019) ("Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), a district court may allow a litigant to proceed 'without prepayment of fees,' . . . but not without ever paying fees."). No payment is due at this time.
II. Directing Service
All claims against the State of Indiana must be dismissed. Indiana is subject to dismissal in this matter because "a State cannot be sued directly in its own name regardless of the relief sought," absent consent or permissible congressional abrogation pursuant to the Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 167 n.14 (1985); Sebesta v. Davis, 878 F.3d 226, 231 (7th Cir. 2017) ("states are not among the 'persons' covered by" § 1983). There is no exception to the state of Indiana's Eleventh Amendment immunity discernible in the Complaint. Ameritech Corp. v. McCann, 297 F.3d 582, 585 (7th Cir. 2002) (setting forth limited exceptions to a state's sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment). As a result, all claims against the state of Indiana are dismissed. The clerk is directed to remove the State of Indiana from the docket.
The Court may dismiss claims within a complaint that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Rowe v. Shake, 196 F.3d 778, 783 (7th Cir. 1999). The Court does not address the viability of the other claims asserted in the complaint.
The clerk is directed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(c)(3) to issue process to Defendant Sergeant Fischer in the manner specified by Rule 4(d). Process shall consist of the complaint, dkt. 1, applicable forms (Notice of Lawsuit and Request for Waiver of Service of Summons and Waiver of Service of Summons), and this Order.
SO ORDERED.
Date: 7/10/2020
/s/_________
James Patrick Hanlon
United States District Judge
Southern District of Indiana Distribution: PETER BROWN
P.O. Box 881442
Indianapolis, IN 49208 Sergeant Fischer
50 N. Alabama Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204