Summary
This United States District Court order grants the defendants' motion for sanctions and dismisses the plaintiff's pro se civil rights lawsuit after finding he filed a fabricated declaration and committed perjury during an evidentiary hearing. The court determined that the plaintiff forged a correctional officer's signature and lied under oath to support his claims regarding denial of medical care and retaliation. Consequently, the court dismissed the case and imposed a strike against the plaintiff under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) for filing a frivolous and malicious action.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the court may sanction and dismiss a pro se plaintiff for filing a fraudulent declaration and committing perjury under its inherent power and the PLRA strike provision.
Holdings
- The court may impose sanctions, dismiss the case, and assess a strike under 28 U.S.C. §1915(g) where a plaintiff has fabricated evidence and lied under oath.
Key quotations
“The Court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that Plaintiff manufactured false and fraudulent evidence in the form of a Declaration purportedly signed by CO Andrew Lehman and filed it with the Court in an attempt to defraud the Court, the Defendants, and the taxpayers of the State of Wisconsin.” (at 1)
Factual background
Plaintiff John Mann Anderson, a prisoner, filed a complaint alleging denial of medical care, retaliation, and termination from a pain‑management program. He submitted a declaration purportedly signed by correctional officer Andrew Lehman, which the officer later testified he did not sign. Plaintiff admitted drafting the declaration and testified he fabricated it.
Procedural history
Plaintiff filed pro se claims under the First, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments alleging denial of medical care, retaliation, and improper termination. Defendants moved for sanctions alleging a fabricated declaration and perjury. The court held an evidentiary hearing and entered this order.