Knisely v. Merrick Garland
Opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
SUSAN KNISELY, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 23-01271 (UNA) ) MERRICK GARLAND ) Honorable, ) ) ) Defendant. )
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Plaintiff, appearing pro se, has filed a Complaint, ECF No. 1, and an application to proceed
in forma pauperis, ECF No. 2. The Court will grant the application and dismiss this action
pursuant to
28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) (requiring immediate dismissal of a case upon a
determination that the complaint fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted).
Plaintiff is a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, who has sued U.S. Attorney General Merrick
Garland. The complaint’s incoherency is reason enough to dismiss the case. See Fed. R. Civ. P.
8 (minimum pleading requirements); Jiggetts v. District of Columbia,
319 F.R.D. 408, 413(D.D.C.
2017), aff’d sub nom. Cooper v. District of Columbia, No. 17-7021,
2017 WL 5664737(D.C. Cir.
Nov. 1, 2017) (a complaint that is “rambling, disjointed, incoherent, or full of irrelevant and
confusing material will patently fail [Rule 8(a)’s] standard”). Nevertheless, Plaintiff seeks to
compel “the U.S. Attorney General [to] resolve the public corruption problem obstructing justice
that is preventing” Plaintiff “from filing a civil lawsuit in this Court against the Islamic Republic
of Iran and collecting restitution[.]” Compl. at 5 (Relief). But courts cannot compel the executive
branch to initiate an investigation or a prosecution because such decisions are “generally
committed to an agency’s absolute discretion,” Heckler v. Chaney,
470 U.S. 821, 831(1985), and “[m]andamus will not lie to control the exercise of this discretion,” Powell v. Katzenbach,
359 F.2d 234, 234(D.C. Cir. 1965). Therefore, this case is dismissed appropriately for failure to state
a claim. A separate order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.
_________/s/_____________ CHRISTOPHER R. COOPER Date: May 16, 2023 United States District Judge
2
Reference
- Status
- Published