Justice v. Wallace , 185 F. App'x 745 ( 2006 )

F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES CO URT O F APPEALS
June 22, 2006
FO R TH E TENTH CIRCUIT Elisabeth A. Shumaker
Clerk of Court
JAM ES E. JUSTICE, II,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v. No. 05-7132
(D.C. No. CIV-05-208-S)
GENE W ALLACE, M uskogee County (E.D. Okla.)
C om missioner; C HA RLES PEARSON,
M uskogee County Sheriff’s
Department,
Defendants-Appellees.
OR D ER AND JUDGM ENT *
Before HENR Y, BRISCO E, and M U RPH Y, Circuit Judges.
James E. Justice, II, filed this civil rights complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C.
§ 1983, charging that the defendants had violated his First, Fourth, and Eighth
A mendm ent rights w hile he w as incarcerated at the M uskogee County Jail. He
*
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of
this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is
therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is
not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata,
and collateral estoppel. The court generally disfavors the citation of orders and
judgments; nevertheless, an order and judgment may be cited under the terms and
conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
named two defendants: M uskogee County Commissioner Gene Wallace, and
M uskogee County Sheriff Charles Pearson. He appeals from the district court’s
orders granting Commissioner W allace’s motion to dismiss his complaint, and
Sheriff Pearson’s motion for summary judgment. W e agree with the district court
that M r. Justice came forward with only conclusory allegations to support his
claims against Commissioner W allace, and failed to show personal participation
by Sheriff Pearson in the alleged constitutional violations. He also failed to
present any evidence of improper training or unconstitutional policy or custom by
Sheriff Pearson resulting in the alleged violations. W e therefore affirm the
judgment of the district court dismissing Commissioner W allace and granting
summary judgment to Sheriff Pearson.
1. M r. Justice’s complaint
In his complaint, M r. Justice asserted constitutional violations as follow s:
Violations of numer[o]us Civil Rights 1st A mendment, 4th
Amendment, 8th Amendment/cruel [and] unusual punishment,
excessive use of force, number of inmates in cell (17) inmates,
violations of jail policies by federal and state law, lack of medical
care[.]
R., doc. 1, at 2.
He explained, more specifically, that his First Amendment rights were
violated when officials at the M uskogee County Jail interfered with a church
meeting that he was holding in a detox unit at 1:30 a.m., by placing him in
lockdown and by denying him a Bible. The officials allegedly told him that “this
-2-
[is] not [a] church.” Id. His Fourth Amendment claim arose when he was strip-
searched at the jail and allegedly left naked for seven hours “without cause.” Id.M r. Justice also alleged that he subjected to warrantless arrest w ithout probable
cause. He did not identify any specific facts in his complaint to support his
allegation of an Eighth Amendment violation. See id. Also, the complaint did
not contain any specific allegations against either of the defendants tying them to
the alleged constitutional violations.
2. Com missioner W allace’s motion to dismiss
Commissioner W allace filed a motion to dismiss M r. Justice’s complaint, in
which he noted that it presented no allegations against him in either his individual
or official capacities. He argued that he could not be held liable for the acts in
question in his official capacity, because he had no policymaking authority at the
jail. He could not be held liable in his individual capacity, because no allegations
had been made that he personally participated in the alleged violations.
After M r. Justice failed to timely respond to the motion to dismiss, the
district court ordered him to show cause why Commissioner W allace’s motion
should not be granted. M r. Justice filed a response to the order to show cause, in
which he asserted that Commissioner W allace should be held liable for his
injuries, because county commissioners have financial responsibility for the
operation of county jails, the provision of health care to inmates, and the purchase
of insurance for payment of negligence claims. M r. Justice also filed a motion to
-3-
amend his complaint, which the district court granted. He failed, however, to file
an amended complaint.
The district court dismissed M r. Justice’s claims against Commissioner
W allace pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), for failure to state a claim,
concluding that M r. Justice had come forward with only conclusory allegations to
support his claims against Commissioner W allace. W e review such a dismissal de
novo, applying the same standards as the district court. M oore v. Guthrie,
438 F.3d 1036, 1039 (10th Cir. 2006). “That is, all well-pleaded factual
allegations in the . . . complaint are accepted as true and viewed in the light most
favorable to the nonmoving party.” Id. (quotation omitted). To survive a motion
to dismiss, however, “plaintiffs must allege sufficient facts to support their
§ 1983 claims. Bare conclusions, even read in the light most favorable to
plaintiff, may prove insufficient.” Smith v. Plati, 258 F.3d 1167, 1176 (10th Cir.
2001). Having reviewed the briefs, the record, and the applicable law , we affirm
the district court’s order dismissal of Commissioner W allace, for substantially the
reasons stated in its order of August 25, 2005.
3. Sheriff Pearson’s motion for summary judgment
Sheriff Pearson and M r. Justice filed cross-motions for summary judgment.
The district court granted Sheriff Pearson’s motion, and denied M r. Justice’s
motion as moot. See R., doc. 61, at 9. In his motion for summary judgment,
Sheriff Pearson argued that he could not be held liable for the acts identified in
-4-
M r. Justice’s complaint in either his individual or official capacities. He could
not be held liable in his individual capacity because he had not personally
participated in any of the alleged constitutional violations. He could not be held
liable in his official capacity because the harms alleged were not the result of any
alleged policy or custom of Sheriff Pearson at the county jail.
Sheriff Pearson presented evidence to support his assertions. This evidence
showed that M r. Justice was arrested by the M uskogee City Police Department,
not the Sheriff’s Department; that Sheriff Pearson was not at the jail at the time of
the alleged constitutional violations; that M r. Justice had no factual basis to allege
that a policy or custom of Sheriff Pearson violated his constitutional rights; and
that M r. Justice had sued Sheriff Pearson solely because he is the supervisor of
the jail.
“W e review the district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo,
applying the same legal standard that should have been used by the district court.”
Rivera v. City & County of Denver, 365 F.3d 912, 920 (10th Cir. 2004) (quotation
and alteration omitted). Summary judgment is appropriate “if the pleadings,
depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the
affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and
that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P.
56(c). Having reviewed the briefs, the record, and the applicable law , we affirm
-5-
the district court’s order granting summary judgment to Sheriff Pearson for
substantially the reasons stated in its order of November 17, 2005.
4. H earing on summary judgment motion
Finally, M r. Justice contends that he should have received a hearing before
the district court granted summary judgment against him. A formal evidentiary
hearing with oral argument is not necessarily required before a district court
enters summary judgment. Geear v. Boulder Comty. Hosp., 844 F.2d 764, 766
(10th Cir. 1988). “Rather, the parties’ right to be heard may be fulfilled by the
court’s review of the briefs and supporting affidavits and materials submitted to
the court.” Id. There is no indication in this case that the issues and evidence
presented could not have been adequately addressed by review of the briefs and
accompanying materials.
The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.
Entered for the Court
Robert H. Henry
Circuit Judge
-6-