Webber v. Rysavy
Opinion of the Court
Bruce J. Webber, an inmate of Minnesota’s Stillwater Prison, was convicted of the murder of Shirleen Howard. On appeal the Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed his conviction. See State v. Webber, 292 N.W.2d 5 (Minn. 1980). Thereafter Webber brought suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985 against an Illinois judge and Illinois law enforcement authorities for alleged deprivation of his civil rights primarily in connection with the issuance and execution of a search warrant preceding his arrest. We affirmed the Minnesota federal district court’s dismissal of the suit for lack of personal jurisdiction over the Illinois defendants. See Webber v. Michela, 633 F.2d 518 (8th Cir. 1980) (per curiam).
Webber then commenced this pro se action against Robert Rysavy, an employee of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and Jerrie Seibert, a sergeant with the Winona, Minnesota, police department. In his complaint Webber sought injunctive, declaratory, and monetary relief against Rysavy and Seibert for their allegedly illegal participation in two searches preceding his arrest.
Following discovery proceedings both Rysavy and Seibert moved for summary judgment.
Webber failed to respond to Rysavy’s affidavit. The district court sua sponte dismissed Webber’s complaint for lack of jurisdiction on the ground that his claims were frivolous. We construe the district court’s memorandum and order as granting appellees’ motion for summary judgment and affirm.
We have carefully reviewed the record before us, including Webber’s complaint, his “memorandum of points and authorities in support of his complaint,” and his brief on appeal with appended excerpts from transcripts of state-court proceedings.
These undisputed facts entitle Rysavy and Seibert to judgment as a matter of
We therefore hold that the district court properly granted summary judgment in favor of Rysavy and Seibert on all counts of Webber’s complaint, and, accordingly, affirm the district court’s judgment of dismissal.
. Webber also alleged that Seibert acted as cocounsel to the county attorney in his criminal trial and tampered with evidence during that trial.
. In the alternative, Seibert moved to dismiss Webber’s complaint for failure to state a claim.
. Rysavy’s affidavit notes that Webber waived all objections to the search of his house at his pretrial suppression hearing.
. In addition, we have examined the two search warrants issued by Will County Circuit Judge Michela which are attached to Rysavy’s affidavit.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Bruce J. WEBBER v. Robert RYSAVY, individually and as well as in his official capacity as investigator for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Sergeant Jerrie Seibert, individually and as well in his official capacity as sergeant for the Winona Police Department, Winona, Minnesota and their agents and employees
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published