St. Germain v. Isenhower
| Decision Date | 30 May 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 00-0013-CIV.,00-0013-CIV. |
| Citation | 98 F.Supp.2d 1366 |
| Parties | Daniel Lucien ST. GERMAIN, Plaintiff, v. Daryl ISENHOWER and Vickie Lee Anderson, Defendants. Daniel Lucien St. Germain, Plaintiff, v. Michael Moore, Joanne Holman, Russell Akins, Marc A. Cianca, Peter Warren Kenny, Dr. Ralph Mora, Gwendolyn Miller, and Bernardo Fernandez, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida |
Daniel Lucien St. Germain, Wewahitchka, FL, pro se.
The magistrate judge has recommended that the 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaints filed by Daniel Lucien St. Germain in these two related cases be dismissed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1) & (2) for failure to state a claim. See Magistrate Judge's Report in St. Germain v. Isenhower et al., Case No. 00-0013-Civ-Jordan [D.E. 5]; Magistrate Judge's Report in St. Germain v. Moore et al., Case No. 00-0016-Civ-Jordan [D.E.5]. After considering Mr. St. Germain's objections in both matters and independently reviewing the records in the cases, I agree that all but one of the claims must be dismissed pursuant to Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 114 S.Ct. 2364, 129 L.Ed.2d 383 (1994). The one claim that is not barred by Heck must be dismissed for failure to state a claim under § 1983. Thus, each case is dismissed without prejudice in its entirety.
In December of 1998, a Florida jury acquitted Mr. St. Germain of committing a burglary with a battery and of kidnaping, but convicted him of two lesser-included offenses — misdemeanor battery and false imprisonment (a third-degree felony). See Complaint in Case No. 00-0013 [D.E. 1] at 8, 10.1 The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed the convictions in July of 1999. Id., Comp. Exh. I. Mr. St. Germain has been unsuccessful in his post-conviction efforts to set aside the convictions. Id. at 3. In January of 2000, he filed the two complaints that are the subject of this order.
In his first complaint, brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Mr. St. Germain names two individuals as defendants — Daryl Isenhower, the assistant state attorney who prosecuted him, and Vickie Lee Anderson, the victim of the offenses. Mr. St. Germain alleges that he had a stormy relationship with Ms. Anderson, and admits that in June of 1998, while intoxicated, he assaulted Ms. Anderson. Id. at 5. According to the complaint, Ms. Anderson maliciously made false statements to the police about the incident, which resulted in Mr. St. Germain's arrest on charges of domestic battery, burglary, and false imprisonment. Id. at 6. Mr. Isenhower subsequently sent Mr. St. Germain an offer to plead guilty to burglary with a battery and kidnaping (and a sentence of 30 months' incarceration) in an allegedly malicious attempt to coerce a guilty plea, and had a presentence report prepared on Mr. St. Germain. Id. at 7 & Exh. E. When Mr. St. Germain did not accept the offer, Mr. Isenhower filed an information charging him with those same offenses. Id. at 6. According to Mr. St. Germain, Mr. Isenhower filed the information without reasonable cause because Ms. Anderson's statements "show[ed] a question of credibility." Id. During pretrial proceedings, Mr. Isenhower was late in turning over discovery, and Mr. St. Germain's counsel had to recopy the discovery from Mr. Isenhower's office. Id. at 7 & Exh. F.
Mr. St. Germain represented himself at trial, with public defender Russell Akins acting as stand-by counsel. Id., Exh. G at 104-07. Mr. Isenhower tried to use photographs taken by Ms. Anderson days after the incident even though he did not provide those to Mr. St. Germain until the evening before trial. Circuit Judge Marc Cianca, who presided over the trial, allowed the use of the photographs subject to foundational requirements, but did not allow Mr. Isenhower to introduce a hair sample from Ms. Anderson. Id. at 113-14. Mr. St. Germain alleges that at trial Ms. Anderson's testimony was found to be false, id. at 7 & Exh. D, though he was found guilty of the two lesser-included offenses. Finally, says Mr. St. Germain, Mr. Isenhower and Ms. Anderson conspired to secure an illegal prison sentence for him through the use of Ms. Anderson's false testimony at the sentencing hearing and through the use of an erroneous scoring calculation under the state sentencing guidelines. Id. at 10.
The complaint contains two counts. Count 1 is against Mr. Isenhower for malicious prosecution. Id. at 10. Count 2 is against Ms. Anderson for malicious prosecution and abuse of process. Id. at 11. Mr. St. Germain requests that the Florida Bar and certain government agencies be told of the misconduct, that he be awarded compensatory and punitive damages for the fear and distress he has suffered — and is continuing to suffer — as a result of his "prison sanction" and "loss of freedom," and that he be awarded costs. Id. at 12.
The magistrate judge concluded that Mr. St. Germain's claims were barred by Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 114 S.Ct. 2364, 129 L.Ed.2d 383 (1994), and the doctrine of absolute immunity. See Magistrate Judge's Report [D.E. 5] at 2. In his objections to the magistrate judge's report, Mr. St. Germain argues that he is not contesting his convictions for misdemeanor battery and false imprisonment or the sentence imposed upon him. Instead, Mr. St. Germain explains, the complaint is directed at his prosecution on the other more serious felonies on which the jury returned a verdict of acquittal. He therefore contends that Heck does not bar his claims. See Objections to Report [D.E. 6] at 2. He also argues that Mr. Isenhower and Ms. Anderson are not entitled to absolute immunity. Id. at 3-5.
In his second complaint, Mr. St. Germain sues various individuals for their roles in securing his convictions and in preventing him from properly appealing those convictions. The defendants are Michael Moore, the superintendent of the Florida Department of Corrections; Joanne Holman, the clerk of the circuit court where Mr. St. Germain was convicted; Circuit Judge Marc Cianca; Russell Akins, the public defender who acted as stand-by counsel for Mr. St. Germain at trial; Peter Warren Kenny and Bernard Fernandez, two other public defenders; Dr. Ralph Mora, who examined Mr. St. Germain; and Gwendolyn Miller, the court reporter/transcriptionist for Mr. St. Germain's trial. Mr. St. Germain seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as compensatory and punitive damages against all defendants in their personal and official capacities. See Complaint in Case No. 00-0016 [D.E. 1] at 1. The complaint is based on 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985, and 1986. Id. at 2.2
Mr. St. Germain alleges in the complaint that he has been impeded at all levels in seeking pretrial and post-conviction relief in his criminal case. Id. at 3(c). The complaint relates many of the same background allegations as the complaint in Case No. 00-0013.
According to Mr. St. Germain, Mr. Kenny, one of the public defenders, did not know anything about the state's case, and the prosecution introduced various exhibits in violation of state discovery rules. Id. at 8. Mr. St. Germain also alleges that Dr. Mora violated the order which directed him to examine Mr. St. Germain, refused to meet with Mr. St. Germain, and improperly sent a copy of his report to Judge Cianca and the prosecutor. Id. at 6-7.
The complaint further alleges that the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to prevent Mr. St. Germain from challenging his convictions. Mr. St. Germain says that Ms. Holman, at the direction of Mr. Kenny, prepared an incomplete and fraudulent record of Mr. St. Germain's case for appeal. The record included matters and proceedings which never took place, and omitted numerous filings (e.g., the presentence investigation report). Id. at 4-5, 8. Mr. St. Germain contends that Judge Cianca made various prejudicial statements that were not transcribed. Id. at 7. At Judge Cianca's direction, the complaint alleges, some hearings were not transcribed at all and some transcripts were altered. Id. at 11, 14. Judge Cianca, according to the complaint, also amended Mr. St.Germain's notice of appeal, and, together with Mr. Kenny, "moved and ordered the appointment of appellate counsel" for Mr. St.Germain. Id. at 9. Mr. St. Germain sought to discharge Mr. Fernandez, another public defender, as his appellate counsel, but his request was refused by the Fourth District. Id. at 9-10.
Counts 1, 4, and 7 of the complaint are directed at Mr. Akins, Mr. Kenny, and Mr. Fernandez, the public defenders who were involved in Mr. St. Germain's case. Each of them is alleged to have committed conspiracy, negligence, malpractice, and breach of fiduciary duty. Id. at 12, 15, and 18. Count 2, directed at Dr. Mora, sets forth claims for conspiracy, malpractice, and breach of fiduciary duty. Count 3, directed at Judge Cianca, alleges that he acted without jurisdiction and abused his power. Id. at 14. Count 5, directed at Ms. Holman, contains claims for conspiracy, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud. Id. at 16. Count 6, directed at Ms. Miller, sounds in conspiracy, negligence, fraud, malpractice, and breach of fiduciary duty. Id. at 17.
Mr. St. Germain seeks to vacate his convictions through injunctive relief and requests compensatory and punitive damages. He wants to recover $100,000 in compensatory damages and $250,000 in punitive damages from all defendants, plus $25,000 in combined damages from Dr. Mora and $10,000 in damages from Ms. Miller. Id. at 18.
As with Case No. 00-0013, the magistrate judge recommended that this action be dismissed pursuant to Heck. See Magistrate Judge's Report [D.E. 5] at 2-3. Mr. St. Germain filed objections to the magistrate judge's report. See Objections to Report [D.E. 6]. He contends that his lawsuit, though...
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