Jones v. Nelson

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
_________________________________________
)
HENRY A. JONES, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) Civil Action No. 20-0544 (UNA)
)
ALLISON JOYCE, )
)
Defendant. )
_________________________________________ )
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This matter is before the Court on the plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma pauperis
and his pro se complaint. According to the plaintiff, his criminal conviction is invalid. See Compl.
at 5 (page number designated by ECF). He asks this Court to order the California court to vacate
the criminal judgment, and compensation of $1 million for each year of his allegedly false
imprisonment. See id.
The Supreme Court instructs:
[I]n order to recover damages for allegedly unconstitutional
conviction or imprisonment, or for other harm caused by actions
whose unlawfulness would render a conviction or sentence invalid .
. . plaintiff must prove that the conviction or sentence has been
reversed on direct appeal, expunged by executive order, declared
invalid by a state tribunal authorized to make such determination, or
called into question by a federal court’s issuance of a writ of habeas
corpus.
Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 486-487 (1994). The plaintiff does not demonstrate that his
conviction or sentence has been reversed or otherwise invalidated, and, therefore, his claim for
damages fails. See, e.g., Johnson v. Williams, 699 F. Supp. 2d 159, 171 (D.D.C. 2010), aff’d sub
nom. Johnson v. Fenty, No. 10-5105, 2010 WL 4340344 (D.C. Cir. Oct. 1, 2010); Jones v. Yanta,
No. 07-1172, 2008 WL 2202219 (D.D.C. May 27, 2008).
The Court will dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be
granted. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii), 1915A(b)(1). An Order is issued separately.
DATE: April 15, 2020 /s/
AMY BERMAN JACKSON
United States District Judge