Jackman v. Smith , 190 F. App'x 108 ( 2006 )

Opinions of the United
2006 Decisions States Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit
8-3-2006
Jackman v. Smith
Precedential or Non-Precedential: Non-Precedential
Docket No. 05-4438
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Recommended Citation
"Jackman v. Smith" (2006). 2006 Decisions. Paper 618.
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NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
No. 05-4438
DONALD G. JACKMAN, JR.,
Appellant
v.
PHILIP SMITH; JOHN SHARP; BRADLY SWIM; DANIAL POWERS;
WILLIAM CRAIG; WILLIAM PARKS; KENNETH WERSTAK; G. LEON;
DANIAL L. TOFT; MICHAEL REINER; MAGARET E. PICKING; JASON
WICK; JOSEPH C. LUND, SR.; MARK MURRAY; LOUIS J. WEIRS;
KEVIN MCCLINSEY; KATHY KLONTZ; ALBERT FRANCIS WESSEL;
DOUGLAS SMITHER; PA STATE TROOPER SHAFER; PA STATE TROOPER
MICHAEL; CHIEF JUDGE MAURICE B. COHILL, JR.; SUE HAGGERTY;
LAWSON BURNSTEIN, M.D. P.C.; TONY KELLER; SHERYLE L. LONG;
EFREM M. GRAIL; MARKETA SIMS; CAROLE MCMILLEN; MARK
BOWMAN; ANDREW WEIGAND; DONNA WEIGAND; PAT SARNESE; MRS.
SARNESE; JOHN E. SHEA; JOHN P. JOYCE; DENNIS M. LORMEL;
THOMAS G. NOSCHESE; JEFFREY B. KILLEEN; KEVIN P. DEEGAN;
LARRY S. KLUMB; SEAN S. BURNS; RALPH W. BRUMLEY; NORMAN
R. MIHM; EDWARD V. MATUNE; RALPH W. KUSH; WILLIAM PARKS;
STEVEN N. BIELICH; DANIAL G. NEWMAN; MICHAEL E. ALBERT;
MICHAEL J. MCKEOWN; WILLIAM L. ALCORN, JR.; BRUCE T. RUPERT;
ROBERT D. BERINGER
On Appeal From the United States District Court
For the Western District of Pennsylvania
(D.C. Civ. No. 05-cv-00215E)
District Judge: Honorable Maurice B. Cohill, Jr.
Submitted Under Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
July 20, 2006
Before: BARRY, CHAGARES AND COWEN, Circuit Judges.
(Filed: August 3, 2006)
OPINION
PER CURIAM
Donald Jackman appeals the District Court’s order dismissing his civil rights
complaint as frivolous. For the following reasons, we will vacate the District Court’s
order and remand for further proceedings.
Jackman was indicted on firearms possession charges and pleaded guilty in
February 2002. He was sentenced to a 262-month prison term for his crimes. In June
2005, Jackman filed the present action pursuant to Bivens, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and a host
of other federal statutes against some fifty-one defendants, each of whom allegedly
played some part in Jackman’s arrest and criminal prosecution. The Magistrate Judge
issued a Report and Recommendation, urging dismissal for failure to state a claim upon
which relief can be granted, which the District Court adopted. Jackman now appeals.1
The District Court dismissed the complaint on the grounds that the claims it
contained were barred because Jackman had not first overturned his conviction, as
required by Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994). The entirety of the District Court’s
analysis consists of the following:
1
We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and exercise plenary review over the
District Court’s sua sponte dismissal for failure to state a claim pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §
1915(e)(2)(ii). See Allah v. Seiverling, 229 F.3d 220, 223 (3d Cir. 2000).
2
...where a challenge such as the plaintiff makes here might result in a
conclusion that could void the underlying conviction, he must first
demonstrate that that conviction or sentence has been reversed, expunged
or declared invalid. Torres v. McLaughlin, 163 F.3d 169 (3d Cir. 1998),
cert. denied, 528 U.S. 1079 (2000). Clearly, this has not occurred in the
instant case.[] Accordingly, it is recommended that the complaint be
dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.
Report and Recommendation at 2. Because the Court did not specify the nature of
Jackman’s claims and relied solely upon a malicious prosecution case, Torres v.
McLaughlin, 163 F.3d 169 (3d Cir. 1998), to dispose of the matter, we understand the
District Court to have read Jackman’s multiple allegations as a single malicious
prosecution claim.
This is problematic. Though not particularly well-plead, Jackman’s 22-page
complaint clearly includes allegations of false arrest, illegal search, coercion, and
excessive force. This is significant because Heck only bars claims which “seek[] to
recover damages for an unconstitutional conviction, imprisonment, or other harm caused
by actions whose unlawfulness would render the conviction or sentence unlawful.”
Torres, 163 F.3d at 173 (emphasis added). As the Heck Court pointed out, because some
claims would not necessarily invalidate a conviction, not all constitutional claims arising
from an arrest and prosecution are subject to the rule. See 512 U.S. at 787 & n.7. Claims
found not to be barred by Heck include unreasonable search and seizure,2 excessive
2
Heck, 512 U.S. at 787 n.7 (because of doctrines like independent source, inevitable
discovery, and harmless error, the success of the § 1983 action would not necessarily
imply that the underlying conviction was unlawful).
3
force,3 coercion,4 and often false arrest and false imprisonment.5 Accordingly, this Court
has recently emphasized that Heck requires district courts to make a determination with
regard to each claim whether it – if successful – would imply the invalidity of the
conviction or sentence. See Gibson v. Superintendent, 411 F.3d 427, 447-49 (3d Cir.
2005). There is no indication that the District Court undertook any such analysis here.
Jackman’s appeal could still be dismissed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) if
the complaint failed to state a claim for other reasons. We accept as true all factual
allegations in the complaint, and all reasonable inferences that can be drawn from them.
See Ransom v. Marrazzo, 848 F.2d 398, 401 (3d Cir. 1988). A pro se complaint may be
dismissed for failure to state a claim only “if it appears ‘beyond doubt that the plaintiff
can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.’”
Milhouse v. Carlson, 652 F.2d 371, 374 (3d Cir. 1981) (citation omitted). Significantly,
this appeal comes to us as the product of the District Court’s screening process, providing
only a very slim record, based on which we cannot conclude that Jackman has failed to
3
Nelson v. Jashurek, 109 F.3d 142, 145-46 (3d Cir. 1997) (where plaintiff alleged
officer effectuated a lawful arrest in an unlawful manner, “we do not see why a judgment
in [plaintiff’s] favor would throw the validity of his conviction into doubt.”).
4
Simmons v. O’Brien, 77 F.3d 1093, 1095 (8th Cir. 1996).
5
Compare Montgomery v. De Simone, 159 F.3d 120, 126 n.5 (3d Cir. 1998) (“claims
for false arrest and false imprisonment are not the type of claims contemplated by the
Court in Heck which necessarily implicate the validity of a conviction or sentence.”),
with Gibson v. Superintendent, 411 F.3d 427, 451-52 (3d Cir. 2005) (finding Heck rule
applies because only evidence supporting conviction was found pursuant to constitutional
violation that was subject of plaintiff’s § 1983 claim).
4
state a claim.
Accordingly, we will vacate the District Court’s order and remand for further
proceedings.
5