The Heartbeat of Freedom Educational Series Brought to you by S.C.A.R.S
Start writing your civil action!
Part 1- Statement of Facts
A) Use paragraphs: brief, well separated, double spaced, paragraphs make your complaint easier to read for all concerned. Use spellcheck. I recommend Open Office, it’s free and formats easily.
B) NUMBER EACH Paragraph! Paragraph numbers are how all parties and The Court will refer back to parts your complaint, and they will throughout the life of the case. Saves everyone time and the court likes that. Some civil action writers will number each sentence. This can be very tedious to do and makes a complaint tedious to read. An answering party such as a defendant or judge can refer back to a specific sentence in a paragraph as easily as a single sentence. Rule #1 is to make your complaint, and all following briefs, answers to Motions, etc., as easy to read as possible. Simple numbering of paragraphs is far easier to read then single sentences double spaced. Be conscious of run on sentences or excessively long paragraphs. Tip- Paragraphs can be easily separated each time you change an idea, part, argument or location.
C) Give a brief synopsis of the Claims, or, story time!
(a) Start with your purpose there where the Constitutional violation occurred, be sure to say you were there as press IF you, in fact, were.
(b) State what you were there to see or what your exact business there was.
(c) Qualify your position as free press with how you publish(You Tube/FB/Etc), give your reach(subscribers/FB Reach Stats, Etc). Be sure to add up all of your reach across your platforms.(25,000 on YT + 10,000 on FB = “I reach approx 35,000 subscribers”). Also, state how long you’ve acted as press.
(d) State every step of the incident, in exact order, from beginning to end. Be specific, remember to quote what the parties speak, be descriptive of where you were.
(e) IF you have video evidence you can use, then it’s OK to go over the video and narrate it in third person in your complaint. Be sure to include in the last sentence before you refer to the video that “The entire incident was captured on audio and video that day and is publicly posted, in it’s entirety, on Plaintiff’s YouTube Channel called “Ha Ha Watch This”.
(f) Format the video as a statement in 3rd person then add a timestamps after the statement.
Example;
3: The Post Office;
Plaintiff enters the Post Office as 2:32 minutes
Plaintiff enters the Post Office lobby with video camera in front of him, quietly describing the area then scans over Poster 7 to show his viewers at 3:00
Postal worker calls out to plaintiff from behind the counter, stating, “Hey what are you doing in here?” at 3:22
Plaintiff responds, “I’m videoing” at 3:25
Postal worker proclaims, “You cant do that in here”! at 3:30
(g) Separate each new subject:
Example;
4: Police enter the lobby;
Defendant 1, Officer Justin Case, approaches plaintiff and says, “You cant do that in here” at 4:19
Plaintiff says, “I can show you that I can, are you familiar with the Post Office’s Poster 7”? at 4:25
Defendant 1 says, “I don’t know and I don’t care, the Postmaster wants you to leave” at 4:35
etc…
5: Defendant 1 arrests Plaintiff;
Defendant 1 demands Plaintiff to turn around and place his hands behind his back” at 6:11
etc…
(h) This is the place for facts of the “event” ONLY. Do not make legal arguments or quote laws. The place for that is in the “Claims” section which follows below in part 2.
(i) The more details you add here, the better. A judge should NOT watch your video, video will come in initial discovery if your case proceeds (Pro-Tip If you submit your video during discovery and not as an Exhibit when you file your complaint, then the Judge has to use ONLY your words contained in the complaint as the facts of the case. If you submit your video as an Exhibit when you file your complaint then the Judge may watch it and be swayed without having all the facts in front of him first). This is because, initially, a judge has to determine if the facts you lay out here are triable “on its face”(prima facie). This means that, other than some paper attachment(we”ll go over attachments later”) The Judge will decide if your case can even be heard based on what facts and claims you lay out here and if all the “ingredients” for a civil claim are present in the complaint.
(j) Be sure to state any physical and financial damages you have in the last paragraphs of your Statement of Facts. You’ll want to add damages to equipment, physical damages to your body, longer lasting consequences like headaches, if you were unable to gain any useful footage to post because of a Defendant then add that too. Lack of video footage IS a financial burden to a reporter and has an value averaged by the income of other videos you’ve posted in the past. So, estimate it’s value and add it in. Damages to replace equipment, medical bills, fuel..everything. Be very specific and be able to prove your damages in Discovery.
(k) A Pro Se action is,”to be broadly construed”. These rules derive from the fifty-year-old Supreme Court decision, Haines v. Kerner. In that case, the Court recognized a relaxed pleading standard for a pro se plaintiff, stating that such pleadings are held “to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.”
Do Not use that as an excuse to think that a Judge will fill in the blanks for you. They cant fill in or construe their own facts. So be wholly inclusive of all pertinent actions in your claim. Because the furtherance of your civil suit first relies on the facts you present in your initial complaint, LEAVE NO ROOM for the defense to beat it up or to “fill in the blanks” you left out. You’ll be delayed or dismissed if you don’t have enough “ingredients”.
(l) The facts presented in your Statement of Facts are THE ONLY facts that will be considered unless a Judge allows for an Amended Complaint later(keeping in mind that if he does allow an Amended Complaint that it’s because your original was missing something and the defendants likely called it out in their answer with a Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim). Be clear and complete in your facts.
Part 2- Claims(Factual Allegations)
YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO PROVE EVERYTHING YOU CLAIM!!
Making individual Claims for each offense of each claim against each defendant and why you should;
1) First let’s look at the Rule. What is a “Claim”? Fed Rule Civil Procedure- Rule 8 states:
FRCP Rule 8. General Rules of Pleading
(a) Claim for Relief. A pleading that states a claim for relief must contain:
(1) a short and plain statement of the grounds for the court’s jurisdiction, unless the court already has jurisdiction and the claim needs no new jurisdictional support;(See SCARS Educational Series #2 for “Jurisdiction and Venue” HERE; https://scars501.org/series-2-jurisdiction-venue-and-parties/)
(2) a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief; and
(3) a demand for the relief sought, which may include relief in the alternative or different types of relief.
- Next, Rule 8(a)(2) above states that, “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief”. This means that you need to provide the Court with the facts of the case and individual claims for each defendant, that the Defendant was acting “under color of law”, the Constitutional violation alleged and how the Defendant’s actions caused the Constitutional violation. A “short and plain statement” is a bit of an overstatement in the Rule 8. A stretch, even. Case law over the years has developed the required “ingredients” to what makes a claim viable in a court. While on one hand adhering to the Rule 8 “short and plain” requirement, the Supreme Court has interpreted this Rule to mean that it should be “plainly written” such that a Defendant has “notice” of what the “Claim” is so that they may defend the allegations about them.
- The “short” and “plain” aspect of the Rule is relative to the complexity of the allegations. Sometimes is neither very short nor very plain. What is important is that it is very CLEAR! Even though The Supreme Court has directed lower courts to construe a pro se Plaintiff’s complaint “liberally”, the Defense will still beat you up if you leave out necessary elements, or ingredients, from your claims. Be as “short and plain” as you can, but be sure to get the required elements in there or it can be easily dismissed on Defendant’s Motion or by the Judge before it even gets served to the defendant.
- Finally, “a demand for the relief requested” is the final ingredient. This will be better covered in the next part of the Series. But, briefly, your relief is a required part of your claim. What is relief? Relief is what YOU want THE COURT to Award you. Relief can include punitive damages, compensatory damages, Compensatory pre and post-judgment interest, future damages, injunctive relief and declaratory relief. More on “Relief” in the next Part of The SCARS Educational Series.
The 14th Amendment and why it should (almost) always be part of your Claim:
1) it applies The Constitutional protections and Federal Statutes to “The Individual States”.
(a) If you state a claim that includes any “due process” or “equal protection” component, ONLY the 14th Amendment Guarantees that, Nothing in The Bill of Rights does, though.
(b) Any claim using ANY Component of Rights found in The Bill of Rights(1st Am, 4th Am, 5th Am, etc), is ONLY incorporated to The States(or State actors in your action) by and through the 14th Amendment. A judge may “construe” that incorporation being Pro Se, but why leave it to chance? Why give your defendants something to talk about in their response?
(c) What Federal Statutes can you use, or NOT use, in your claims?
1) First, you cannot use Federal CRIMINAL Statutes that do not articulate a remedy via civil suit;
Example;
18 U.S. Code § 242 – Deprivation of rights under color of law… I hear this from both auditors and YouTube chat fans alike. They say, “You should sue them under 18 USC 242, deprivation of rights under color of law!!”.. However 18 USC 242 has NO civil remedy attached to the statute. If a statute does not include a civil remedy that SPECIFICALLY states a “person” can recover damages in a civil action, then it has no place in a Sec 1983 claim. So don’t use those… There are Federal Statutes, too, that do include civil remedies but only authorize the Attorney General of The United States to bring to suit. Not “Persons” So you have to watch for that as well… 18 U.S. Code §241 and §242 DO NOT CONFER A RIGHT TO PERSONAL CIVIL ACTION! This statute is specifically for FEDERAL PROSECUTORS to use in a CRIMINAL action, not CIVIL and not for anyone else to use!
2) What you can use is Section 1983 which has the only authority you need for a “person” to bring a civil suit for someone acting “under color of law to deprive someone of their civil Constitutional rights”. So 1983 allows a “person” to bring suit only for Constitutional violations. If you proclaim a defendant violated some other Federal Statute, it MUST have a civil remedy by a “person” attached.
So, were talking about two mechanisms so far, or ingredients, that MUST be included in each individual claim in your lawsuit. One mechanism is that If your ONLY proclaiming Constitutional rights violations(such as Speech, Seizure or right to remain silent) then Sect 1983 and your alleged Constitutional violation, cleanly articulated in your “Claims: Section”, are all that you need to articulate in that individual claim. Relief is the third required ingredient, we’ll get to that below.
However, if you’re using a Federal Statute as a violation in a claim, it MUST include a civil remedy available to you as seen below;
3) A Federal Statute WITH personal civil remedy attached looks like 42 USC 2000aa(The “Privacy Protection Act”) – Searches and seizures by government officers and employees in connection with investigation or prosecution of criminal offenses…
This statute, dealing with government seizure of a reporter’s work products and work materials, makes doing so a crime absent acquiring a subpoena BEFORE getting a warrant to seize those work products or materials. Furthermore, 42 USC 2000aa-6, provides a “person” with a civil remedy(right of action).
And, even better yet, they cannot use any official immunity or “good faith” as a defense;
42 U.S.C. § 2000aa–6 – Civil actions by aggrieved persons
(a)Right of action
A person aggrieved by a search for or seizure of materials in violation of this chapter shall have a civil cause of action for damages for such search or seizure
*Bonus part of this statute-
(c)Official immunity:
The United States, a State, or any other governmental unit liable for violations of this chapter under subsection (a)(1), may not assert as a defense to a claim arising under this chapter the immunity of the officer or employee whose violation is complained of or his reasonable good faith belief in the lawfulness of his conduct, except that such a defense may be asserted if the violation complained of is that of a judicial officer.
The TEXT of 42 USC §2000aa can be found here;
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/chapter-21A/subchapter-I
“Claims” in Summary-
In summary, the “Claims” section of your lawsuit is key to it’s survival through to trial. The facts you present are all the facts you get until discovery. You MUST have ALL of the “ingredients” outlined above in order to get past a first reading by the Judge. Don’t skimp here. You should clearly state your claims by comparing the actions of the defendant(s) to the constitutional violations you assert. Use the facts to match the actions. Be as “Short and plain” as you can, but don’t skimp on details required. Relief should be appropriate.
What a “Claim” looks like-
Para 32. Claim 1- Prior Restraint- (1st Amendment and 14th Amendment Claim) The Defendant Officer Justin Case did create a prior restraint of the future exercise of my 1st Amendment Right to a Free Press and Speech imposed upon The Individual States through the 14th Amendment of The U.S. Constitution. Defendant Officer Justin Case did arrest me for Constitutionally protected activities under color of law while lacking probable cause. {See; Turner v. Driver, 848 F.3d 678, 2017 WL 650186, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 2769 (5th Cir. 2017)“We are satisfied that no objectively reasonable person in these officers’ position could have believed that there was probable cause to arrest Turner under the circumstances alleged in the amended complaint”}.
Para 33. A person of ordinary firmness would feel restrained to return to The Bumpkintown Post Office under threat of arrest.{See; Morrison v. Board of Educ. of Boyd County, 507 F.3d 494, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 25133, 2007 WL 3119480 (6th Cir. 2007) “we hold that an allegation of a past chill of First Amendment-protected activity is sufficient to confer standing to a plaintiff seeking retrospective relief, even when that relief comes in the form of nominal damages. We further hold that to establish such a claim, a plaintiff must show that the defendant’s actions or policy would deter a person of ordinary firmness from exercising his or her First Amendment liberties in the way that the plaintiff alleges he or she would have, were it not for the defendant’s conduct or policy. Consequently, we REVERSE the district court’s…”}. The Plaintiff desires to return to the Post Office in Bumpkintown and reasonably fears that if he returns and similar circumstances exist that he would be again arrested. A reasonable officer would have known that his actions were unconstitutional under similar circumstances.
Remember, the “Claim” section of your complaint is only part of your “Claim” as defined by the Courts. You still have to have the “Facts” and “Relief” as part of your complaint overall for a “Claim” to exist under current doctrine.
**IMPORTANT** Each type of “Claim”, such as prior restraint or 1st amendment violations or false arrest claims each have their own “ingredients’ that make that type of claim complete and viable in a civil action. More on this later in the Series…
Part 3 Conclusion
(A) The Conclusions Section is OPTIONAL and can be positioned either after the “Claims” Section OR after the “Relief” Section.
(B) A conclusion, being optional, is a good place to show the Court facts external to the complaint. It can be useful to show that a Defendant has had past issues violating Constitutional Rights of citizens. A mention of past civil rights related cases with a brief summary of the nature of the past complaint(s) and it’s outcome can show the court a “pattern or practice” of constitutionally offensive behavior by a defendant.
(C) Other facts that can be included could be a compilation of arrests from State records that the offenses are recurring. Statistics from good resources may be used as well. Any FACT related to your claim in the defendant’s history could help you.
Example:
The City of Bumpkintown and it’s Police Department have a long and well documented history of civil rights violations. Last year, (4) civil actions were submitted to The Federal Court for deprivation(s) of civil rights. Three of those actions were completed recently with the Court awarding all 3 of the Plaintiffs punitive damages. See Case Numbers 7:25cv00292, 7:25cv00321, 7:25cv01921. One action is still pending in this Court. Further, in the last 10 years over $18 Millions dollars have been awarded to other plaintiffs in various civil rights actions. Even before the last 10 years The City of Bumpkintown has had a long history of civil rights violations among the most vulnerable among us including racial profiling, violations of freedoms of press, speech and religion, usually violating by prejudice of race, income or homelessness.
Part 4 Relief –
1) 5 Kinds of Relief;
(A) Punitive Damages- Punitive = Punishment. Punitive damages are more than just a “payment for your pains”. Punitive damages are historically designed to punish a defendant where their conduct was considered grossly negligent or done intentionally.
Punitive damages are also meant to be exemplary, or, as an example to deter others from similar negligent or purposeful actions.
(B) Compensatory Damages- financial costs resulting from the State actions (Use receipts or other proof but wait until Discover to show them), costs for damaged goods, medical bills, tickets, fuel, court filing costs.. Anything you can produce a receipt for that was directly related to the Complaint are calculated here.
(C) Injunctive Relief- Asking the court to force by order of the Court for a governmental body to perform an act or not perform an act. An injunction against enforcing a law or an injunction to change policy to reflect adherence to Constitutional activity.
(D) Other Court Fees and Expenses- Should be stated “as determined by The Court or The Clerk”
(E) Future Damages- Future Damages are usually calculated or estimated costs for future medical expenses including prescriptions.
(F) Who pays what?
(a) Punitive damages for each defendant should be stated if desired.
(b) Compensatory Damages should be paid by the person that directly or physically caused the damages to person or property.
(c) Court Fees and expenses can be asked for a single defendant OR divided equally among the defendants. I prefer the later in case a defendant is dismissed from a claim of immunity.
Any one, or all of the available, forms of relief can be used in the same complaint.
(G) How to present “Punitive” Relief- Punitive relief can be presented in three ways
(a) You can state your punitive claims by asking a set amount from each Defendant(See “Relief” Example” below).
(b) You may ask for one set number at the end of your Relief Section that would be divided by the Court or a Jury accordingly among the defendants if there is more than (1) defendant.
(c) You may not set a number at all and say something like, “Plaintiff prays for Punitive Damages to be determined by a Jury”.
Each option has it’s advantages and disadvantages so think hard about how you’ll ask for Punitive damages. We’ll provide more tips on this later in the Series.
What a “Relief” Section looks like:
Para 49. Relief as to Claim 1- (Prior Restraint) Plaintiff prays Declaratory and Injunctive Relief declaring Defendant Officer Justin Case’s action of arresting Plaintiff for Constitutionally protected activities, outlined infra, as unconstitutional. Plaintiff prays for a permanent injunction barring Defendant Officer Justin Case from arresting any person, similarly situated.
Best Wishes from SCARS!