Perez v. Gamez, CIVIL NO. 1:13-CV-01552
| Decision Date | 22 November 2013 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL NO. 1:13-CV-01552 |
| Parties | EVER PEREZ, Plaintiff v. CORPORAL RICHARD GAMEZ, OFFICER ANDREW CRONE, BRIAN HUNTER, OFFICERS JOHN DOE 1-6, PRESIDENT JUDGE TODD A. HOOVER, CAROLYN C. THOMPSON, JUDGE BERNARD L. COATES, JR., JUDGE DEBORAH E. CURCILLO, JASON ANTHONY LAMBRINO, STEVE ALLEN MIMM, JOSEPH MARTIN GAVAZZI AND DAUPHIN JANE DOES 1-16 Defendants |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Pennsylvania |
MEMORANDUM
In this Section 1983 civil rights action, Plaintiff has sued multiple individuals alleging, inter alia, violations of his Fourteenth Amendment substantive and procedural due process rights as a result of Plaintiff's detention at Dauphin County Prison from June 11 to October 18, 2011. Presently before the court is a motion to dismiss filed by Defendants President Judge Hoover, Judge Coates, Judge Curcillo, and District Court Administrator Thompson (collectively "Judicial Defendants"). (Doc. 28.) The issue presented by this motion is whether Plaintiff's claims against the Judicial Defendants are barred by judicial, legislative, or qualified immunity, or in the alternative, whether Plaintiff has failed to state a claim against Judicial Defendants. For the following reasons, the motion will be granted because judicial immunity bars the claims against Defendant Judge Coates and Defendant Judge Curcillo, legislative immunity bars the claims against Defendant JudgeHoover, and Plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted against Defendant Thompson.
Following a traffic stop on June 11, 2011, Plaintiff Ever Perez ("Plaintiff") was arrested and subsequently detained for approximately 130 days. Because Plaintiff was allegedly never told the reason for his arrest and was not given the opportunity to speak on his own behalf, and proceeded through the judicial process without access to an interpreter (Doc. 7, ¶¶ 56, 109), Plaintiff commenced this action against Judicial Defendants for violations of his procedural and substantive due process rights protected by the Fourteenth Amendment Rights (Docs. 1 & 7).1 The facts underlying Plaintiff's claims against Judicial Defendants are as follows.
Plaintiff is a Mexican citizen who speaks only Spanish, although he understands some English. (Doc. 7, ¶¶ 17, 22.) Plaintiff resided in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania from 2004 until February 2013. (Id. at ¶ 23.) During November and December of 2010, Plaintiff's brother, Jose Luis Perez Velazquez ("Jose"), occasionally resided at Plaintiff's home. (Id. at ¶ 30.) Jose is approximately five years younger and six-and-a-half inches taller than Plaintiff. (See id. at ¶¶ 17, 20, 31,32). While Jose lived with Plaintiff, Plaintiff owned a Ford Windstar minivan that Jose occasionally borrowed. (Id. at ¶¶ 25, 35.)
On November 19, 2010, while Jose was driving Plaintiff's minivan, Defendant Corporal Richard Gamez ("Defendant Gamez") initiated a traffic stop due to his observing the vehicle speed, swerve, and cross the fog line. (Id. at ¶¶ 35-37.) Jose gave Plaintiff's Mexican identification, which was in the glove box, to Defendant Gamez rather than producing his own. (Id. at ¶¶ 26, 38.) As a result of failing a portable breath test, Jose was arrested and was taken to the Harrisburg Hospital for a blood test, the results of which indicated that Jose was operating the vehicle while his blood alcohol content was in excess of the legal limit. (Id. at ¶ 40.) While at the hospital, Defendant Gamez took Jose's photograph, informed him that he would receive a summons to appear before court, and released him. (Id. at ¶¶ 42, 43.) Defendant Gamez released Jose from the hospital believing him to be Plaintiff.
As a result of Jose's November 19, 2011 arrest and misidentification of himself, Defendant Gamez filed a criminal complaint naming Plaintiff as the defendant with Magisterial District Judge Gregory D. Johnson ("MDJ Johnson"), which charged Plaintiff with six offenses.3 (Id. at ¶ 44.) In the criminal complaint, Defendant Gamez stated that he identified Plaintiff based solely upon the Mexican identification provided by Jose at the time of the arrest. (Id. at ¶ 47.) DefendantGamez also stated that fingerprints were not taken (Id. at ¶ 45), and described the offender as being five feet and five inches tall (Id. at ¶ 46).4
On December 1, 2012, MDJ Johnson sent Plaintiff two summonses to his residence in Harrisburg, one by certified mail and the other by regular mail. (Id. at ¶ 49.) Plaintiff maintains that he never received either summons, despite court records reflecting that someone signed for the summons delivered by certified mail and that the summons sent by regular mail was not returned as undeliverable. (Id. at ¶¶ 50-52.) Plaintiff failed to appear for his preliminary hearing. (Id. at ¶ 53.) Consequently, MDJ Johnson transferred the case to Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Andrew H. Dowling, who issued a bench warrant for Plaintiff's arrest. (Id. at ¶¶ 55, 56.)
While driving his minivan on June 11, 2011, Plaintiff was stopped by Middletown Police Officer Andrew Richard Crone ("Defendant Crone"). (Id. at ¶ 60.) Defendant Crone examined Plaintiff's documents, including Plaintiff's Mexican identification, and returned to his vehicle, at which time he presumably discovered the bench warrant issued for Plaintiff. (Id. at ¶ 63.) Thereafter, three additional police vehicles arrived, and a total of eight law enforcement officers participated in arresting Plaintiff. (Id. at ¶ 64.)
After being held at the Middletown Police Station for two hours, Plaintiff was taken to Dauphin County Prison where he was strip-searched, fingerprinted, innoculated, dressed in prison clothes, and interviewed. (Id. at ¶¶ 71, 75.) The interview was conducted in English despite Plaintiff requesting a Spanish interpreter. (Id. at ¶¶ 76, 78.) Plaintiff was able to answer basic biographicalquestions in English, but could not understand the majority of the interview, including any statement that may have been made regarding the reason underlying his arrest. (Id. at ¶¶ 76, 77, 80.)
A series of four hearings were then held for Plaintiff at the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas. (See id. at ¶¶ 81-101.) During the time period relevant to these proceedings, Judge Todd A. Hoover ("Defendant Judge Hoover") was the President Judge of the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas and Carolyn C. Thompson ("Defendant Thompson") was the District Court Administrator for the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas. (Id. at ¶¶ 9, 10.)
During the hearings, Plaintiff was not provided a Spanish interpreter and he was represented by three different public defenders, at least two of whom did not speak Spanish. (See id. at ¶¶ 81-100.) Plaintiff's first hearing took place on June 13, 2013. (Id. at ¶ 81.) At that hearing, the assistant district attorney stated that Plaintiff failed to appear for his preliminary DUI hearing, and then requested the hearing be continued so an interpreter could be provided. (Id. at ¶¶ 85, 86.) Judge Bernard L. Coates, Jr. ("Defendant Judge Coates") granted the request and continued the proceedings until June 16, 2011. (Id. at ¶ 87.) Plaintiff avers that he did not understand what was being said at the June 11, 2011 hearing, and was not given the opportunity to speak. (Id. at ¶ 88.)
The second hearing was held on June 16, 2011, at which time Judge Deborah E. Curcillo ("Defendant Judge Curcillo") set bail for Plaintiff at $10,000.00,5 without hearing from Plaintiff, and continued the hearing so that aninterpreter could be provided. (Id. at ¶¶ 91-93.) At the third hearing, which was held on June 29, 2011, Defendant Judge Curcillo again presided. Despite the second hearing being continued for purposes of obtaining an interpreter, an interpreter was again absent from the third hearing. (Id. at ¶¶ 96, 97.) Plaintiff was not present in the courtroom for the third hearing, at which time Plaintiff's public defender waived Plaintiff's right to speedy trial and again requested a continuance for lack of an interpreter. Defendant Judge Curcillo granted the continuance and rescheduled the hearing for August 10, 2011. (Id. at ¶¶ 98-100.) At the rescheduled hearing on August 10, 2011, the assistant public defender again requested and received a continuance. (Id. at ¶ 101.)
After the August 10, 2011 hearing, Plaintiff retained a private attorney, and on August 30, 2011, the private attorney filed a motion to dismiss the charges on the basis that Plaintiff was not the individual who was driving the vehicle on November 19, 2011. (Id. at ¶¶ 103, 104.) A hearing was held on October 18, 2011, at which time an interpreter was provided. (Id. at ¶¶ 105, 106.) The prosecutor agreed to amend the charges to reflect Jose's name after Defendant Gamez stated that Plaintiff was not the individual that he had pulled over on November 16, 2010. (Id. at ¶ 107; Doc. 3-7, p. 3 of 4.) Plaintiff was released from custody that day. (Doc. 7, ¶ 108.)
Plaintiff claims that he suffered substantial damages, including physical pain and suffering, emotional distress and harm, embarrassment, lost wages and employment, other financial losses, and loss of liberty as a result of his being in custody. (Id. at ¶ 126.)
Plaintiff filed his original complaint on June 10, 2013 (Doc. 1) and an amended complaint on June 28, 2013 (Doc. 7). Plaintiff's amended complaint sets forth, inter alia, two Fourteenth Amendment claims against Judicial Defendants, the first asserting violations of his substantive due process rights and the second asserting violations of his procedural due process rights.6 (See Doc. 7.) On September 16, 2013, Judicial Defendants filed a motion to dismiss (Doc. 28), which was perfected on September 30, 2013 (Doc. 32). After the court granted an extension of time to respond (Doc. 41), Plaintiff filed a brief in opposition to Judicial Defendant's motion to dismiss on October 24, 2013 (Doc. 42). Judi...
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