Bey v. United States Department of Justice

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

ADMIRAL ALA’AD-DIN BEY, Plaintiff, v. Civil Action No. 26 - 37 (LLA) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION In August 2011, Admiral Ala’Ad-Din Bey was charged with assaulting a federal officer in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 111(a) and (b). See Compl. at 1-2, United States v. Amin-Bey, No. 16-CR-91 (D.N.J. Aug. 18, 2011), ECF No. 1. In 2016, he pleaded guilty to the one-count information. Minute Entry, United States v. Amin-Bey, No. 16-CR-91 (D.N.J. Feb. 29, 2016), ECF No. 59. He was sentenced to time served and a one-year term of supervised release. See Judgment at 2-3, United States v. Amin-Bey, No. 16-CR-91 (D.N.J. May 12, 2016), ECF No. 64.

In 2023, Mr. Amin-Bey filed a 793-page pro se motion seeking to reopen his criminal case.

Request to Reopen Case, United States v. Amin-Bey, No. 16-CR-91 (D.N.J. May 22, 2023), ECF No. 65. The court denied his request and his subsequent motions without prejudice, explaining that “[t]o the extent Defendant is petitioning to set aside his plea or sentence, he must file a motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255.” Order at 1-2, United States v. Amin-Bey, No. 16-CR-91 (D.N.J. June 16, 2023), ECF No. 74. Mr. Amin-Bey then filed a motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255, apparently challenging his 2016 conviction on jurisdictional grounds. See Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence, at 2, Amin-Bey v. United States, No. 23-CV-3512 (D.N.J. June 28, 2023), ECF No. 1. The court issued an order requiring Mr. Amin-Bey show cause why the case should not be dismissed because he was no longer in custody. Order at 3, Amin-Bey v. United States, No. 23-CV-3512 (D.N.J. Aug. 30, 2023), ECF No. 11. That order administratively terminated the case pending receipt of Mr. Amin-Bey’s response. Id. Mr. Amin-Bey twice appealed the show-cause order, but his appeals were dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because there was no final appealable order. See Amin-Bey, No. 23-CV-3512, ECF Nos. 12 to 15, 17, 18, 21.

Mr. Amin-Bey subsequently commenced this action against the U.S. Department of Justice. ECF No. 1. He alleges that “the Department of Justice & United States District Court [for the] District of New Jersey [have] violated [his] Moorish Afrimerican Islaamic faith-based religious freedom of speech rights to proclaim [his] autocephalous Moorish Afrimerican Nationality & autocephalous aboriginal Moorish Afrimerican Islaamic Universal Religion of Truth.” Id. at 1. Although his complaint is no picture of clarity, it appears that he is again challenging his criminal conviction in the District of New Jersey. See, e.g., id. (discussing the “District of New Jersey[‘s] facilitation of abuse of process & malicious prosecution”); id. at 2 (explaining that he has submitted declarations “for the purpose of overturning the verdict for criminal case 2:16-cr-91 in the United States District Court of New Jersey”); id. at 4-5 (arguing that he entered into his plea of guilty under duress).

It is well established that this court “lacks jurisdiction to review decisions of other federal courts.” Klayman v. Rao, 49 F.4th 550, 552 (D.C. Cir. 2022) (per curiam) (quoting Smalls v. United States, 471 F.3d 186, 192 (D.C. Cir. 2006)); see Calderon v. Brown, No. 15-CV-75, 2015 WL 222164, at *1 (D.D.C. Jan. 13, 2015) (“As a general rule applicable here, this [c]ourt lacks subject matter jurisdiction to review the decisions of another court[.]”). The court will accordingly dismiss Mr. Amin-Bey’s case for lack of jurisdiction. In light of that dismissal, the court will deny as moot his motion for service by the United States Marshals Service. ECF No. 2. A contemporaneous order will issue.

LOREN L. ALIKHAN United States District Judge Date: April 2, 2026