Pilkin v. United States Department of Justice ( 2020 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Vitaly Evgenievich Pilkin, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) Civil Action No. 20-832 (UNA)
)
United States Department of Justice et al., )
)
Defendants. )
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This matter is before the Court on its initial review of plaintiff’s pro se complaint and
application for leave to proceed in forma pauperis. The Court will grant the application and
dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3) (requiring
the court to dismiss an action “at any time” it determines that subject matter jurisdiction is
wanting).
Plaintiff is a resident of Moscow, Russia. He sues the U.S. Department of Justice and
Attorney General William Barr for DOJ’s alleged refusal to investigate his complaints of federal
offenses “committed by Sony Group Companies” and “law firm Hogan Lovells[.]” Compl. ¶ 5;
see id. ¶¶ 9-18 (recounting complaints of law violations that plaintiff allegedly submitted to DOJ
between October 2013 and September 2016).
The United States Attorney General has absolute discretion in deciding whether to
investigate claims for possible criminal or civil prosecution, and, as a general rule applicable here,
such decisions are not subject to judicial review. Shoshone-Bannock Tribes v. Reno, 56 F.3d 1476,
1480-81 (D.C. Cir. 1995); see Heckler v. Chaney, 470 U.S. 821, 831 (1985) (“[A]n agency’s
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decision not to prosecute or enforce, whether through civil or criminal process, is a decision
generally committed to an agency’s absolute discretion.”); Wightman-Cervantes v. Mueller, 750
F. Supp. 2d 76, 80 (D.D.C. 2010) (“[A]n agency’s decision whether to prosecute, investigate, or
enforce has been recognized as purely discretionary and not subject to judicial review.”), citing
Block v. SEC, 50 F.3d 1078, 1081-82 (D.C. Cir. 1995) (other citation omitted). Notably, the
Supreme Court’s “recognition of the existence of discretion is attributable in no small part to the
general unsuitability for judicial review of agency decisions to refuse enforcement.” Heckler, 470
U.S. at 831. Therefore, this case will be dismissed. A separate order accompanies this
Memorandum Opinion.
_________s/_____________
AMY BERMAN JACKSON
Date: April 14, 2020 United States District Judge
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