United States v. Bolsinger, Civ. A. No. 61-737.

Decision Date12 February 1962
Docket NumberCiv. A. No. 61-737.
Citation211 F. Supp. 199
PartiesUNITED STATES of America ex rel. Ralph J. HOGE, Plaintiff, v. Patrick N. BOLSINGER, Prothonotary, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Miriam A. Greenawalt, Deputy Prothonotary, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Middle District at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, James F. Maroney, Superintendent, Western State Penitentiary, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

No appearance for Ralph J. Hoge.

Frank P. Lawley, Jr., Deputy Atty. Gen., Harrisburg, Pa., for defendants in all three cases.

MARSH, District Judge.

The plaintiff, Ralph J. Hoge, an inmate at Western State Penitentiary, filed a complaint at No. 61-737 entitled "Petition for Writs of Declaratory Judgement and Mandatory Injunction". He avers that on March 1, 1961, he addressed a petition to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, at Harrisburg, which was received by defendant Bolsinger, the Prothonotary of that Court, at Pittsburgh, who arbitrarily returned it to plaintiff "without any legal recognition, review, and/or legal action whatsoever on the part of the * * * Supreme Court".

He avers that on July 26, 1961, he sent to Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas a petition for a Writ of Mandamus and received no acknowledgment. He avers that on October 13, 1961, he petitioned the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania for a Writ of Mandamus to compel the Clerk of the Dauphin County Court to acknowledge the receipt of the petition of July 26, 1961, and to schedule it for judicial review, but that defendant, Miriam A. Greenawalt, a Deputy Prothonotary of that Court arbitrarily returned the mandamus petition "without any legal recognition, review, and/or legal action whatsoever on the part of the * * * Supreme Court".

It can be gathered that the plaintiff is accusing the two Prothonotaries of conspiracy to thwart his efforts to protect his legal rights by invalidating his petitions sent to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Thus he claims to have been deprived of the equal protection of the laws and due process of law in violation of his civil rights and the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution.

Plaintiff avers in his complaint at Supplement #1 that several months ago he ordered by letter certain Pennsylvania statutes from the Bureau of Publications, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and gave the letter to the Penitentiary mailing department "for purpose of being mailed", but he has not received the requested statutes, or any response; nor has the letter and his prepaid postage been returned to him. Because he does not know what happened, he avers that he has been denied his civil rights by defendant Maroney, the Superintendent of the Western State Penitentiary, in that he has been denied "free-access-to-law, due-process-of-law, * * * equal-protection-of-law and right-to-petition" in violation of his civil rights and the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Plaintiff avers in Supplement #2 that he attached to his petition for writ of mandamus sent to the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas an affidavit of poverty on which the defendant-Superintendent caused to be written a statement to the effect that plaintiff "has a certain amount of money in his institutional account"; that this statement was added to his affidavit without his knowledge and was unauthorized, unsigned and inaccurate. Plaintiff admits the addition is of little factual consequence.

It can be gathered that plaintiff is accusing the Superintendent of violating his rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments by refusing to mail the letter and by altering an affidavit of poverty to a court petition in an attempt to thwart plaintiff's efforts to protect his legal rights.

Plaintiff seems to want this federal court to declare that the three defendants have violated his civil rights in that they have abridged his...

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16 cases
  • Littleton v. Berbling
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit
    • October 6, 1972
    ...expedient of averring conclusions would be cognizable in the federal courts under the Civil Rights Act." United States ex rel. Hoge v. Bolsinger, 211 F.Supp. 199, 201 (W.D.Pa. 1962), aff'd, 311 F.2d 215 (3rd Cir. 1962), cert. denied, 372 U.S. 931, 83 S.Ct. 878, 9 L.Ed.2d 735 Nevertheless, w......
  • Sinchak v. Parente
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    • December 29, 1966
    ...States. Basista v. Weir, 340 F.2d 74, 79, C.A.3, 1965; Marland v. Heyse, 315 F.2d 312, C.A.10, 1963; United States ex rel. Hoge v. Bolsinger, 211 F.Supp. 199, 201 (W.D. Pa.,1962). The defendant argues that the complaint is lacking in any averments of fact that he acted in any way other than......
  • Pugliano v. Staziak
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    • June 30, 1964
    ...In an action for damages under the Civil Rights Act, the plaintiff must allege highly specific facts. United States ex rel. Hoge v. Bolsinger, 211 F. Supp. 199 (W.D.Pa.1962), aff'd 311 F. 2d 215 (3d Cir. 1962), cert. denied 372 U.S. 931, 83 S.Ct. 878, 9 L.Ed.2d 735; Roberts v. Barbosa, 227 ......
  • Albright v. RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    • January 22, 1979
    ...Agency, 316 F.Supp. 1284 (W.D. Pa.1970); Weyandt v. Mason's Stores, Inc., 279 F.Supp. 283 (W.D.Pa.1968); United States ex rel. Hoge v. Bolsinger, 211 F.Supp. 199 (W.D.Pa.1962), aff'd per curiam, 311 F.2d 215 (3d Cir.) cert. denied 372 U.S. 931, 83 S.Ct. 878, 9 L.Ed.2d 735 (1963). Cf. Black ......
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