Bettis v. Paulson

FILED
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FEB 122009
NANCY MAYER WHITT,
U.S. DISTFN&r'``g~. CLERK
Kirell Francis Bettis, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) Civil Action No.
Henry Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury
)
)
09 0285
et al., )
)
Defendants. )
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This matter comes before the Court on consideration of plaintiffs pro se complaint and
application to proceed in forma pauperis. The Court will grant the application to proceed in
forma pauperis and dismiss the complaint.
Plaintiff, Kirell Francis Bettis, is a prisoner incarcerated in California's Kern Valley State
Prison. With the exception ofthe U.S. Secretary of the Treasury,1 the defendants are California
agencies, cities, or state or local employees involved in the criminal justice system. The
complaint alleges that the plaintiff is a foreign sovereign whose attempt to invoke the Foreign
Sovereign Immunities Act in defense of his state court criminal prosecution was wrongfully
thwarted. The complaint does not provide any indication of how the United States Secretary of
the Treasury is connected to this case.
1 It is unclear whether the plaintiff intended to name the United States as a defendant, or
to merely indicate that the United States is the place where the other defendants reside. If the
United States is intended as a defendant, the complaint does not disclose any connection between
the United States and the factual allegations.
3
This complaint presents precisely the sort of incoherent, "fantastic or delusional
scenarios" that warrant dismissal. Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319,328 (1989). Accordingly,
this complaint will be dismissed under 28 U .S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i) (requiring dismissal of
frivolous complaints).
An appropriate order accompanies this memorandum opinion.
£/ G.t- ~ Hu4L
Date: ~ 11) oj United States District Judge
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