Case 1:06-cv-00313-ZLW Document 10 Filed 04/04/06 USDC Colorado Page 1 of 7
`Case 1:O6—Cv—OO313—ZLW Document 10 Filed O4/O4/O6 USDC Colorado Page 1 of 7
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`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
`
`Civil Action NO. 06-cv—00313-BNB
`
`JEFF H. WILLIAMSON,
`
`Plaintiff,
`
`V.
`
`GEORGE H. W. BUSH,
`GEORGE W. BUSH,
`RICHARD CHENEY,
`DONALD RUMSFELD,
`COLIN POWELL,
`ROBERT SWAN MUELLER, III,
`GEORGE J. TENET,
`PORTER GOSS,
`J. DANFORTH QUAYLE,
`JAMES BAKER,
`WILLIAM WEBSTER,
`MARK W. EVERSON,
`JOHN ASHCROFT,
`ALBERTO GONZALES,
`UNITED STATES CONGRESS,
`US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
`DENNIS HASTERT (IL),
`JOHN BOEHNER (OH),
`ROY BLUNT (MO),
`ERIC CANTOR (VA),
`DEBORAH PRYCE (OH),
`JACK KINGSTON (GA),
`JOHN DOOLITTLE (CA),
`ADAM H. PUTNUM (FL)
`TOM REYNOLDS (NY) and
`ROB PORTMAN (OH),
`NANCY PELOSI (CA),
`JOHN SPRATT (SC),
`STENY HOYER (MD),
`JOHN LEWIS (GA),
`BOB MENENDEZ (NJ),
`JAMES CLYBURN (SC),
`RAHM EMANUEL (IL),
`GEORGE MILLER (CA),
`ROSA DELANRO (CI)...,..__._..
`
`F I L E D
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`DENVER. CCJUTRADD
`
`APR
`
`-
`
`4
`
`2005
`
`GREGORY C. LANGHAM
`CLERK
`
`
`1-
`
`___
`
`
`Case 1:O6—Cv—OO313—ZLW Document 10 Filed O4/O4/O6 USDC Colorado Page 1 of 7
`
`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
`
`Civil Action NO. 06-cv—00313-BNB
`
`JEFF H. WILLIAMSON,
`
`Plaintiff,
`
`V.
`
`GEORGE H. W. BUSH,
`GEORGE W. BUSH,
`RICHARD CHENEY,
`DONALD RUMSFELD,
`COLIN POWELL,
`ROBERT SWAN MUELLER, III,
`GEORGE J. TENET,
`PORTER GOSS,
`J. DANFORTH QUAYLE,
`JAMES BAKER,
`WILLIAM WEBSTER,
`MARK W. EVERSON,
`JOHN ASHCROFT,
`ALBERTO GONZALES,
`UNITED STATES CONGRESS,
`US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
`DENNIS HASTERT (IL),
`JOHN BOEHNER (OH),
`ROY BLUNT (MO),
`ERIC CANTOR (VA),
`DEBORAH PRYCE (OH),
`JACK KINGSTON (GA),
`JOHN DOOLITTLE (CA),
`ADAM H. PUTNUM (FL)
`TOM REYNOLDS (NY) and
`ROB PORTMAN (OH),
`NANCY PELOSI (CA),
`JOHN SPRATT (SC),
`STENY HOYER (MD),
`JOHN LEWIS (GA),
`BOB MENENDEZ (NJ),
`JAMES CLYBURN (SC),
`RAHM EMANUEL (IL),
`GEORGE MILLER (CA),
`ROSA DELANRO (CI)...,..__._..
`
`F I L E D
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`DENVER. CCJUTRADD
`
`APR
`
`-
`
`4
`
`2005
`
`GREGORY C. LANGHAM
`CLERK
`
`
`1-
`
`___
`
`
`
`Case 1:06-cv-00313-ZLW Document 10 Filed 04/04/06 USDC Colorado Page 2 of 7
`Case 1:O6—Cv—00313—ZLW Document 10 Filed 04/O4/O6 USDC Colorado Page 2 Of 7
`
`
`TED STEVENS (R-AK),
`BILL FRIST (TN),
`MITCH MCCONNELL (KY),
`BOB BENNETT (UT),
`RICK SANTORUM (PA),
`KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (TX),
`JON KYL (Az),
`ELIZABETH DOLE (NC),
`WAYNE ALLARD (CO),
`HARRY REID (Nv),
`RICHARD DURBIN (IL),
`CHARLES SCHUMER (NY),
`DEBBIE STABENOW (Ml),
`BYRON DORGAN (ND),
`HILLARY CLINTON (NY),
`UNKNOWN CIA AGENTS,
`UNKNOWN MILITARY OFFICERS, and
`PERSONELL [sic],
`
`Defendants.
`
`
`
`
`
`ORDER TO FILE AMENDED COMPLAINT
`
`On February 23,2006, Plaintiff Jeff H. Williamson filed a pro se Complaint and a
`
`Motion and Affidavit for Leave to Proceed Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915.
`
`In the
`
`Complaint, Plaintiff states that he is a citizen of Colorado. He also Claims that his
`
`constitutional rights have been violated pursuant to various federal statutes. The Court
`
`reviewed the Complaint, determined that it is deficient, and entered an order, on
`
`February 23, 2006, directing Plaintiff to file the claims on a Court-approved form. On
`
`March 13, 2006, Plaintiff complied with the February 23 Order and filed a
`
`Complaint form.
`
`Also on March 13, 2006, Plaintiff filed a document titled “Rule 15(a) Amendment
`
`to Complaint." Plaintiff submitted two Attachments, A and B, with the Amendment.
`
`In
`
`__.._._ ._..
`
`..—.— —--——---——T———---—----— --------
`
`' -"2"" "'
`
`
`
`Case 1:06-cv-00313-ZLW Document 10 Filed 04/04/06 USDC Colorado Page 3 of 7
`Case 1:06—cv—00313-ZLW Document 10 Filed 04/04/06 usoc C0 ora 0
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`the Amendment, Plaintiff requests that the Complaint be amended by striking out and
`
`dismissing as Defendants the names that are listed in Attachment A, and by adding as
`
`Defendants the names that are listed in Attachment B.
`
`The Court must construe the Complaint liberally, because Mr. Williamson is a
`
`pro se litigant. See Haines V. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520-21 (1972); Half V. Bellman,
`
`935 F.2d 1106, 1110 (10”‘ Cir. 1991).
`
`if a complaint reasonably can be read “to state a
`
`valid claim on which the plaintiff could prevail, [a court] should do so despite the
`
`plaintiffs failure to cite proper legal authority, his confusion of various legal theories, his
`
`poor syntax and sentence construction, or his unfamiliarity with pleading requirements.”
`
`Hall, 935 F.2d at 1110. However, a court should not act as a pro se |itigant's advocate.
`
`An amended complaint supersedes the original complaint. See Boefens v.
`
`Redman Homes, Inc., 759 F.2d 504, 508 (5““ Cir. 1985); Cameron V. Fogarty, 705
`
`F.2d 676 (2”” Cir. 1983); London v. Coopers 8. Lybrand, 644 F.2d 811 (9“‘ Cir. 1981).
`
`Plaintiff’s attempt to amend the Complaint on March 13, however, is at best confusing
`
`and appears to supersede the Prisoner Complaint form that he submitted on March 13,
`
`2006. The attempt also is insufficient to amend the Complaint, because the filing is
`
`incomplete. An amended complaint must include all the information requested on the
`
`Court-approved form. Therefore, Plaintiff will be directed to file an Amended Complaint
`
`that includes all alleged claims and all properly named Defendants.
`
`In addition, upon review of Plaintiffs Complaint that he filed on March 13, 2006,
`
`the Court finds that the Complaint fails to meet the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 8.
`
`
`
`Case 1:06-cv-00313-ZLW Document 10 Filed 04/04/06 USDC Colorado Page 4 of 7
`Case 1:06-cv-OO313—ZLW Document 10 Filed O4/O4/O6 USDC Colorado Page 4 of 7
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`basis for the claims against them so that they may respond and to allow the court to
`
`conclude that the allegations, if proven, show that the plaintiff is entitled to relief. See
`
`Monument Builders of Greater Kansas City, Inc. V. American Cemetery Ass’n of
`
`Kansas, 891 F.2d 1473, 1480 (10”‘ Cir. 1989). The requirements of Rule 8 are
`
`designed to meet these purposes. See TV Communications Network, Inc. v. ESPN,
`
`Inc., 767 F. Supp. 1062, 1069 (D. Colo. 1991), aff'd, 964 F.2d 1022 (10"‘ Cir. 1992).
`
`Specifically, Rule 8(a) provides that a complaint “shall contain (1) a short and
`
`plain statement of the grounds upon which the court's jurisdiction depends, .
`
`.
`
`. (2) a
`
`short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief, and
`
`(3) a demand forjudgment for the relief the pleader seeks.” The philosophy of Ruie
`
`8(a) is reinforced by Rule 8(e)(1), which provides that “[e]ach averment of a pleading
`
`shall be simple, concise, and direct.” Taken together, Rules 8(a) and (e)(1) underscore
`
`the emphasis placed on clarity and brevity by the federal pleading rules. Prolix, vague,
`
`or unintelligible pleadings violate the requirements of Rule 8.
`
`Mr. Williamson’s Complaint does not include a short and plain statement of his
`claims showing that he is entitled to relief in this action. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2).
`
`Rather than summarizing each claim succinctly, Mr. Williamson apparently expects the
`
`Court to sift through the twenty-seven pages of the March 13 Complaint and determine
`
`what are claims and what are merely restatements of information Plaintiff has copied
`
`from other sources.
`
`To the extent that Plaintiff may state viable claims, he must allege, simply and
`
`concisely, his specific claims for relief, including the specific rights that allegedly have
`
`
`
`Case 1:06-cv-00313-ZLW Document 10 Filed 04/04/06 USDC Colorado Page 5 of 7
`Case 1:06-cv-OO313—ZLW Document 10 Filed O4/O4/O6 USDC Colorado Page 5 of 7
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`
`been violated and the specific acts of each Defendant that allegedly violated his rights.
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`Furthermore, personal participation is an essential allegation in a civil rights
`
`action. See Bennett v. Passic, 545 F.2d 1260, 1262-63 (10"‘ Cir. 1976). To establish
`
`personal participation, a plaintiff must show that each defendant caused the deprivation
`
`of a federal right. See Kentucky V. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 166 (1985). There must
`
`be an affirmative link between the alleged constitutional violation and each defendant’s
`
`participation, control or direction, or failure to supervise. See Butler v. City of
`
`Norman, 992 F.2d 1053, 1055 (1()“‘ Cir. 1993). A defendant may not be held liable
`
`merely because of his or her supervisory position. See Pembaur V. City of Cincinnati,
`
`475 U.S. 469, 479 (1986); McKee V. Heggy, 703 F.2d 479, 483 (10"‘ Cir. 1983).
`
`Mr. Williamson will be ordered to file an Amended Complaint that states
`
`specifically what he alleges each Defendant did to violate his rights. Plaintiff may not
`
`set forth a general statement that “Defendants" are responsible for the violations he
`
`alleges. Furthermore, Plaintiff is instructed to provide addresses for all named
`
`Defendants. Accordingly, it is
`
`ORDERED that Plaintiff file within thirty days from the date of this Order an
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`Amended Complaint that complies with the pleading requirements of Fed. R.
`
`Civ. P. 8 and with this Order.
`
`It is
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`FURTHER ORDERED that if Mr. Williamson fails within the time allowed to file
`
`an Amended Complaint that complies with this Order, to the Court's satisfaction, the
`
`action will be dismissed without further notice.
`
`It is
`
`
`
`Case 1:06-cv-00313-ZLW Document 10 Filed 04/04/06 USDC Colorado Page 6 of 7
`Case 1:O6—cv-00313-ZLW Document 10 Filéol 04/O4/O6 usoc Colorado Page 6 0f 7
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`
`FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiffs "Motion to Waive Charges on Copies of
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`Complaint so the Defendants can be Served by a United States Marshal,” filed on
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`February 23, 2006, is denied.
`
`DATED April 4, 2006, at Denver, Colorado.
`
`BY THE COURT:
`
`sl Boyd N. Boland
`United States Magistrate Judge
`
`
`
`Case 1:06-cv-00313-ZLW Document 10 Filed 04/04/06 USDC Colorado Page 7 of 7
`Case 1:O6—cv—OO313—ZLW Document 10 Filed O4/O4/O6 USDC Colorado Page 7 of 7
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`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
`
`CERTIFICATE OF MAILING
`
`Civil Action No. 06-CV-00313-BNB
`
`Jeff H. Williamson
`General Delivery
`951 20”‘ St.
`
`Denver, CO 80202
`
`I hereby certify that I have mailed a copy of the /JRDER and two copies of
`Prisoner Complaint to the above-named individuals on 4 ‘I re-
`
`GREGORY C. LANGHAM, CLERK
`
`By:
`
`Deputy Clerk
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