Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ared-2_24-cv-00214/USCOURTS-ared-2_24-cv-00214-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 550
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Civil Rights (U.S. defendant)
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Prisoner Civil Rights

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IN THE UNITED ST ATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS 

DELTA DIVISION 

ASTON JAVON WARDLOW 

#2032872 

v. No. 2:24-cv-214-DPM 

MIKE ALLEN, Sheriff, 

Crittenden County; 

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, 

Governor, State of Arkansas; 

CHRIS WELLS, Sheriff, Osage 

County; LAURA KELLY, Governor, 

State of Kansas 

ORDER 

PLAINTIFF 

DEFENDANTS 

1. Wardlow's motion to proceed in forma pauperis, Doc. 1, 

is granted. The Court assesses an initial partial filing fee of $16.67. 

Wardlow' s custodian must collect monthly payments from his prison 

trust account each time the amount in the account exceeds $10. 

These payments will be equal to twenty percent of the preceding 

month's income credited to the account; and they will be collected and 

forwarded to the Clerk of the Court until the $350 filing fee is paid in 

full. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). The payments forwarded on Wardlow's 

behalf must be clearly identified by case name and case number. 

2. The Court must screen Wardlow's § 1983 complaint and 

addenda. Doc. 2-4; 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e). He is awaiting trial for capital 

Case 2:24-cv-00214-DPM Document 5 Filed 12/19/24 Page 1 of 3
murder and committing a terroristic act in Crittenden County, 

Arkansas. State v. Wardlow, No. lSCR-24-464. Wardlow, a resident of 

Kansas, says he was illegally arrested without a warrant, not read his 

Miranda rights, unlawfully imprisoned, and wrongly extradited to 

Arkansas. Once at the Crittenden County Jail, he says he was denied 

medical care following an "episode of SVT" and was denied the right 

to file a grievance. Doc. 3. He seeks release and damages. 

The Court must abstain from proceeding with Wardlow' s claims 

surrounding his arrest and imprisonment because the criminal case is 

ongoing, Arkansas has an important interest in enforcing its criminal 

laws, and Wardlow may raise his constitutional claims during his state 

criminal proceedings. Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 43-45 (1971); 

Mounkes v. Conklin, 922 F. Supp. 1501, 1510-13 (D. Kansas 1996). 

Further, Wardlow hasn't alleged bad faith, harassment, or any other 

extraordinary circumstances that would make abstention 

inappropriate. Tony Alamo Christian Ministries v. Selig, 664 F.3d 1245, 

1254 (8th Cir. 2012). These claims are therefore stayed until there's a 

final disposition of his pending state charges. Yamaha Motor Corp., 

U.S.A. v. Stroud, 179 F.3d 598, 603-04 (8th Cir. 1999). 

Wardlow's claims based on his medical care while in the custody 

of the Crittenden County Jail and his alleged inability to grieve that 

matter are dismissed without prejudice as improperly joined. 

Fed. R. Civ. P. 21. The Court directs the Clerk to send Wardlow a blank 

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Case 2:24-cv-00214-DPM Document 5 Filed 12/19/24 Page 2 of 3
§ 1983 complaint and motion to proceed in forma pauperis should he 

wish to bring those claims in a separate lawsuit. 

* * * 

The Court directs the Clerk to stay and administratively terminate 

this case. Wardlow can move to reopen this case after final disposition 

of his state cases, including any appeal. Any motion to reopen must be 

filed within sixty days of that final disposition. If Wardlow doesn't file 

a timely motion to reopen or a status report by 17 December 2025, 

then the Court will reopen the case and dismiss it without prejudice. 

So Ordered. 

~ si..d/ tr. 

D.P. Marshall Jr. fl 

United States District Judge 

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Case 2:24-cv-00214-DPM Document 5 Filed 12/19/24 Page 3 of 3