A federal judge is set to decide whether to dismiss a grieving mother’s federal lawsuit involving the alleged suicide of her teenaged son while he was in custody at an alternative juvenile center organized by a Missouri Court.
Plaintiff Jennifer Harmon sued the Second Judicial Circuit Court, Preferred Family Healthcare, and 16 other defendants in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District over the hanging death of her son while he resided at Bruce Normile Juvenile Justice, which became part of the Second Judicial Circuit Court’s juvenile detention alternatives initiative in 2009.
Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on May 10, claiming sovereign immunity, qualified and official immunity.
“The Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction as all of Plaintiff’s claims are for wrongful death,” Schmitt wrote. “Defendant Second Circuit should be dismissed as they are entitled to sovereign immunity and are not a person as required for a claim under Section 1983, nor are respondeat superior claims allowed under Section 1983.”
42 U.S.C. § 1983 was written to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment’s promise of liberty and equality by holding police and other state actors accountable for violating the constitutional rights of the public they swear to protect, according to media reports.
“In the event, this Court decides the mention of Section 1983 provides a basis for jurisdiction in the federal court, all claims against the individual Defendants should still be dismissed,” Schmitt wrote in the 16-page brief. “The individual Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity on all claims under which they have been implicated. Qualified immunity provides governmental officials with immunity from suit.”
Qualified immunity is a higher court doctrine created by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967.
Some 89 civil rights and government accountability groups penned an open letter to Senate Majority Leader Schumer and Senate Minority Leader McConnell as recently as May 10 to end immunity and restore civil rights laws in full force when government officials deprive individuals of their rights.
“Ending qualified immunity would ensure government accountability, encourage courts to play their historic role of redressing abuse of power, remedy and deter wrongdoing by those sworn to uphold the law, help victims obtain justice, and create an incentive for governments to properly train, equip, and staff their departments,” the letter states.
But in this case, Schmitt asserts that the Defendants violated no law, clearly established or otherwise.
“Even if assumed true, Plaintiff’s allegations are not sufficient to establish that the Defendants have violated any clearly-established right,” Schmitt stated in the pleading.
Another defense employed by Schmitt in the brief is lack of causation.
“As Plaintiff cannot show Decedent’s suicide attempt and ultimate death were the reasonable and probable consequence of Defendants’ conduct, they cannot show the required element of causation, and the above-named Defendants should be dismissed from the wrongful death counts in Plaintiff’s Complaint,” Schmitt said.
Schmitt further argues that wrongful death is a state statutory claim and, as a result, the federal court lacks subject matter jurisdiction.
“These claims are properly state law claims pursuant to the Missouri Wrongful Death Statue, §537.080, no federal jurisdiction exists over these claims,” he wrote.
U.S. District Judge Sarah Elizabeth Pitlyk, appointed by President Trump, will adjudicate the litigation.