Thomas v. State

• Decision Date: 13 February 2018
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 3:17–CV–0348–N–BH
• Citation: 294 F.Supp.3d 576
• Parties: Bonnie Allen THOMAS, Plaintiff, v. The STATE of Texas, et. al, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Texas

294 F.Supp.3d 576

Bonnie Allen THOMAS, Plaintiff,

v.The STATE of Texas, et. al, Defendants.

Civil Action No. 3:17–CV–0348–N–BH

United States District Court, N.D. Texas, Dallas Division.

Signed February 13, 2018

Bonnie Allen Thomas, Keene, TX, pro se.

Demetri Anastasiadis, Office of the Texas Attorney General, Austin, TX, Grant D. Blaies, Jennifer Holland Litke, Blaies & Hightower, Fort Worth, TX, Robert Ruotolo, Busch Ruotolo & Simpson, LLP, Dallas, TX, W Todd Albin, Albin Harrison Roach PLLC, Dale M. Rodriguez, Law Office of Dale M Rodriguez, Plano, TX, John J. Mongogna, Troy P. Majoue, Albin Roach PLLC, Frisco, TX, for Defendants.

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATION

IRMA CARRILLO RAMIREZ, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

By Special Order 3–251 , this pro se case has been automatically referred for full case management, including the determination of non-dispositive motions and issuance of findings of fact and recommendations on dispositive motions. Before the Court are the following:

(1) Defendant Danny Griffith's Motion to Dismiss the First Amended Complaint [ F.R.C.P. 12(b)(6) ] , filed March 23, 2017 (doc. 38);

(2) Defendant Marc Pieroni's Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 12(b) 1( ) and (6) , filed April 13, 2017 (doc. 56);

(3) Plaintiff's Motion to Disqualify Opposing Counsel for Marc Pieron[i] , filed April 27, 2017 (doc. 64);

(4) 413th District Court Judge William Bosworth, 66th Judicial District Court Judge F.B. McGregor, 18th District Court Judge John Neill, 249th District Court Judge Dennis Wayne Bridewell, and the State of Texas' Motions to Dismiss on the Basis of Official, Qualified, Eleventh Amendment and Judicial Immunity and Absence of Standing , filed May 3, 2017 (doc. 69);

(5) Defendants Johnson County, Texas, Bob Alford, Ken Bartlett, Ronald McBroom, Dale Hanna, and Martin Strahan's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint and Brief in Support Thereof , filed June 2, 2017 (doc. 80); and

(6) Defendant Greg Gorman's Third Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 12(b)(1) and (6) , filed June 2, 2017 (doc. 81).

Based on the relevant filings and applicable law, the motions to dismiss should be GRANTED , the plaintiff's remaining claims should be DISMISSEDsua sponte for failure to state a claim, and her motion to disqualify should be DENIED as moot .

I. BACKGROUND

Bonnie Allen Thomas (Plaintiff) initially filed this civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985 on February 6, 2017. (See doc. 3.) She sues the State of Texas (State), Johnson County, Texas (County), former Sheriff Bob Alford (Sheriff), Deputy Sheriff Ken Bartlett (Deputy), alleged confidential informant Daniel Wade Griffith (CI), 413th District Court Judge William Bosworth (Judge Bosworth), 18th District Court Judge John E. Neill (Judge Neill), Municipal Court Judge Ronald McBroom (Judge McBroom), Johnson County District Attorney Dale Hannah (DA), Assistant District Attorney Martin Strahan (ADA), 66th District Court Judge F.B. McGregor (Judge McGregor), 249th District Court Judge Dennis Wayne Bridewell (Judge Bridewell), Marc Pieroni (Ex-husband), his attorney Greg Gorman (Attorney), and John Does 1–5 and Jane Does 1–5 (collectively Defendants). (doc. 79 at 1.)¹ She claims that she "has been the target of an ongoing conspiracy of ... County officials to persecute and oppress her, and deny her justice in any court in ... County, on any matter, civil or criminal," in retaliation for a wrongful death action she and her siblings filed against County and Sheriff, among others, in 2013. (Id. at 1.)²

A. Child Custody Proceedings

Plaintiff and her Ex-husband are the parents of three minor children of whom she was initially awarded primary custody. (Id. at 6.) Ex-husband filed a motion for sole custody of the three children, and in June 2015, sought "emergency relief" based on allegations that Plaintiff had confiscated their son's cell phone and "was beating" him. (Id. ) Plaintiff claims that despite the responding police officer's conclusion that there had been no spanking, Judge Bridewell "immediately removed all three children from [her] custody" and placed them with Ex-husband "without proper notice and without opportunity to be heard." (Id. ) He also ordered drug tests, social studies and psychological evaluations for both parents. (Id. at 7.) At a subsequent hearing, Judge Bridewell "refused to reverse his temporary order awarding custody" to Ex-husband, whom Plaintiff contends tested positive for drugs, is "an active illegal drug user," and has been investigated by CPS for choking their oldest son. (Id. at 7–8.) Judge Bridewell denied her motion to transfer venue but granted her request to recuse himself, and Judge Neill was then assigned to the case. (Id. at 8.)

Plaintiff sought an emergency hearing from Judge Neill, who refused to schedule one, and after discovering that he was out of town, she sought one from Judge Bosworth, who denied her request. (Id. ) Judge Neill held a hearing on August 28, 2015, after which he only modified the temporary child custody orders to allow Plaintiff visitation. (Id. ) At a second hearing on September 2, 2015, he allegedly verbally ordered the attorneys for the parties to file affidavits stating that their clients had turned over all firearms to their attorneys, but the order was never reduced to writing. (Id. ) Plaintiff turned over the only firearm she owned at the time to her attorney. (Id. ) Judge Neill also allegedly refused to schedule a hearing on Plaintiff's "writ of habeas corpus return of child under the family code to dissolve the temporary orders granted without due process, and return the children." (Id. at 9 (emphasis original).)

Plaintiff also contends that Defendants inflicted serious financial harm on her by forcing her into eight hearings on Judge Bridewell's temporary orders between June and October 2015. (Id. )

B. Criminal Proceedings

To keep costs down and help her attorney, Plaintiff did extensive factual and legal research. (Id. ) On October 21, 2015, she went to the Guinn Justice Center in Cleburne, Texas, to do legal research. (Id. ) She "forgot she had a small .22 caliber ‘purse gun’ in her purse" when she went through security. (Id. ) Security officers discovered the gun, and she left to put it in her car. (Id. ) She was arrested while walking to her car and charged with "carrying a gun into a prohibited area, and evading arrest." (Id. at 9–10.) Sheriff ordered her vehicle searched and impounded. (Id. at 10.) Plaintiff claims Judge McBroom refused to set a bond for her, ostensibly because he was involved with other defendants to entrap her, and she was held under the control of Sheriff and another wrongful death defendant in the same jail where her father had been confined. (Id. ) Contrary to a policy that detainees not be held in booking for more than 24 hours, she was kept in booking for six days, and placed in solitary confinement and not allowed to shower for four days. (Id. at 10–11.)

After a second bond hearing before Judge Neill, Plaintiff's husband saw ADA and Attorney outside of the courtroom having an animated conversation about Plaintiff. (Id. at 11.) Attorney was trying to convince ADA that Plaintiff was "mentally unstable" and should be denied bond. (Id. ) Plaintiff's attorney confronted Attorney about his actions and they got into a heated argument. (Id. ) ADA argued that Plaintiff should be held without bond until a psychological evaluation had been performed, one was ordered by Judge Neill, and he refused to set bond until it was completed. (Id. )

On her tenth day of confinement, Judge Neill set bond for Plaintiff and "required as a condition of bond that [she] be confined to her home, and ... wear a GPS locator." (Id. at 14.) He also ordered as a condition of her bond that she not have contact with her children. (Id. ) Judge Neill subsequently denied her "writ of habeas corpus to amend bond conditions and remove the GPS locator." (Id. at 15 (emphasis original).) Plaintiff appealed the denial of her writ to the Tenth Court of Appeals of Texas, and that court modified her bond conditions to remove the home confinement requirement. (Id. at 15–16.)

Judge McGregor presided over Plaintiff's criminal trial for carrying a gun into a prohibited area. (Id. at 25.) She alleges that Judge McGregor refused to grant her motions to transfer venue and motions in limine, and that he allowed prejudicial photographs to be taken of her. (Id. ) She claims that Judge McGregor allowed an unfair trial against her in order to secure a conviction. (Id. at 25–26.) She describes one occasion during the trial in which Judge Neill was permitted to testify regarding the oral "gun-turn-over order" he issued in her child custody case, and she alleges he "used his position and influence to secure a conviction for [her]." (Id. at 26.) She also claims that Judge McGregor allowed testimony during the sentencing phase from Deputy regarding an alleged entrapment scheme. (Id. ) Plaintiff "hopes for appellate remedy, but such may be years of financial drain and p[h]ysical and emotional drain." (Id. )

C. Entrapment Conspiracy

Plaintiff alleges that Defendants' actions are all part of a conspiracy against her to deprive her of justice in County, and that part of the conspiracy entailed entrapping her into agreeing to hire a "hitman" to murder Ex-husband. (Id. at 1–2, 11–12, 17.) She claims that her bond was denied during the criminal prosecution in order to hold her "in solitary confinement to break down her mental functioning until a secretly wired (audio and video) confidential informant[,CI,] would approach her to try and convince her to authorize the murder of her ex-husband." (Id. at 10.)

CI, allegedly acting as an agent for the other defendants, visited Plaintiff on her third day in solitary confinement and asked her questions about the charges against her in an "illegal custodial interrogation" that provided valuable...