Maryland > Federal > District Court > Pro Se
Prisoner Civil Rights Complaint - Maryland
| Prisoner Civil Rights Complaint Form. This is a Maryland form and can be used in Pro Se District Court Federal . |
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INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING A PRO SE PRISONER COMPLAINT UNDER THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT, 42 U.S.C. 1983This packet includes two copies of a complaint form and two copies of an in forma pauperis petition. Thereare instructions to help you understand the forms and a little bit about Court procedures, but THE COURTCANNOT GIVE YOU LEGAL ADVICE. The Court may not accept your complaint for filing unless youfollow these instructions and provide the information requested in these forms. How to file a complaintTo begin a lawsuit you must file an original and one copy of your complaint for the court, and one copy ofthe complaint for each defendant you name. For example, if you name two defendants, you must send tothe Court an original and three copies of the complaint. You should keep a copy of the complaint for yourown records. The Court is not responsible for providing copies to you. ALL COPIES MUST BEIDENTICAL TO THE ORIGINAL. Your complaint must be legibly handwritten or typed. If you need more space to answer a question youmay write on the back of the form or attach additional pages. All pages should be 8 by 11".Your complaint should be filed in this Court only if one or more of the defendants is located in Marylandor the claim arose here. You should file a separate complaint for each claim that you have unless they areall related to the same incident or issue. You must give the correct names and addresses of each defendant. A PLAINTIFF IS REQUIRED TOGIVE INFORMATION TO THE COURTS TO ENABLE THE MARSHAL TO COMPLETESERVICE OF THE COMPLAINT ON ALL PERSONS NAMED AS DEFENDANTS.Answer the questions about prison grievances carefully. You may attach copies of grievances,administrative remedy procedure requests, and responses to your complaint. FAILING TO PROVIDETHE INFORMATION REQUESTED MAY RESULT IN YOUR COMPLAINT NOT BEING FILEDOR CAUSE DELAYS IN PROCESSING YOUR COMPLAINT.In your complaint state the facts of your case. Focus on who, what, when, where. BE BRIEF. DO NOTINCLUDE CITATIONS OR LEGAL ARGUMENTS. Please note that under recent legislation, persons who file cases which are dismissed by the Court under28 U.S.C. 1915(e) may be penalized. The Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996 provides that prisonerswho have had three or more cases dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or failing to state a claim upon whichrelief may be granted, will not be permitted to file any further civil actions without prepaying the filing feeunless they are in imminent danger of serious harm. See 28 U.S.C. 1915(g). 1983 Complaint (Rev. 2/18/2005) <<<<<<<<<********>>>>>>>>>>>>> 2When the forms are completed mail the original and copies to: Clerk, United States District Court for theDistrict of Maryland, 101 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201. How to ask for the filing fee to be waivedThere is a fee of $250.00 for filing this type of lawsuit. This must be paid at the time your complaint is filed.In addition, you must pay the United States Marshal for serving the complaint on each defendant. If youare unable to pay the filing fee and costs of service you may ask the Court to let you proceed in formapauperis. If the Court grants this request it means that you will not have to pay the filing fee at the time yourcomplaint is filed, but, periodically money can be taken from your inmate account and sent to the Court untilthe filing fee is paid. How much money is taken will depend upon how much is in your account. There willbe an initial partial filing fee that is 20% of the greater of the average monthly deposits to your account forthe past six months or the average monthly balance of your account for the past six months. Then, adeduction of 20% of the prior months income will be made each time the balance in your account is over$10.00. These deductions will be made until the full amount of the filing fee is paid. By asking the Courtto let you proceed in forma pauperis you are consenting to these deductions.Attached are two copies of a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis. One should be filed with yourcomplaint. The other is for your records. Things to know about representing yourselfOnce your complaint is received by the Court it will be reviewed and, if you have properly completed theforms and provided all necessary information, a case number and judge will be assigned. Everything thatyou receive from the Court about your case will have the case number on it. Everything that you send tothe Court other than the complaint and motion and affidavit to proceed in forma pauperis should have thecase number on it. Unless directed otherwise, all communications to the Court about your case should be addressed to: Clerk of the Court United States District Court 101 West Lombard Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201You must notify the Court in writing of any change in your address. Failure to do this may resultin dismissal of your case. After you file the complaint no communication about your case should be sent directly to any judge. If youwant to ask the Court to do something, you should file a motion. Pleadings and motions should be filedwith the Clerk and a copy should be mailed to the attorney representing the defendant(s) or directly to the1983 Complaint (Rev. 2/18/2005) 2<<<<<<<<<********>>>>>>>>>>>>> 3defendant(s) if he/she does not have an attorney. It is important to include a certificate of service onanything you file after your complaint showing when you mailed copies and to whom they were sent. Thecertificate of service appears at the end of the pleading or motion and looks like the sample below. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on this ______ day of ___________________, 20__, a copy of this (title of the document) , was mailed, postage prepaid, to (name and address of the attorney or person to whom you sent it). (your signature )It is not necessary to state in the certificate of service that copies were sent to the Court or to the Clerk.Do not file any motions or memoranda that are longer than fifty pages unless you have received permissionfrom the Court. Most motions and memoranda should be much shorter than fifty pages.You do not have to file copies of exhibits that are already on file in the same case. For example, if thedefendants in your case file a motion for summary judgment and attach as an exhibit to their motion a copyof a sick call slip, you do not have to attach a copy of that document to your opposition or to any motionsyou file. You may simply refer to the copy that is already in the
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