Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ared-4_19-cv-00138/USCOURTS-ared-4_19-cv-00138-0/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 STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS 

WESTERN DIVISION 

JOHNATHAN PINNEY PLAINTIFF 

v. No. 4:19-cv-138-DPM 

CHRIS WARING, Lieutenant, 

Fairfield Bay Police Department, 

CHAD BROWN, State's Attorney, 

FOSTER, Van Buren County Judiciary, 

MARK RODDENBERRY, Sergeant, 

Fairfield Bay Police Department, 

DALLAS CLARK, Code Enforcement 

Officer, Fairfield Bay, LUCAS 

EMBERTON, Sheriff, Van Buren County 

ORDER 

DEFENDANTS 

1. Motion to proceed in forma pauperis, NQ 5, granted. Pinney must 

pay the filing fee, but over time. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). The Court won't 

assess an initial partial filing fee because Pinney can't afford to pay one. 

But his custodian must collect monthly payments from Pinney's prison 

trust account each time the amount in the account exceeds $10.00. 

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 $350.00 filing fee is paid 

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

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

Case 4:19-cv-00138-DPM Document 16 Filed 03/15/19 Page 1 of 3
2. The Court directs the Clerk to send a copy of this Order to the 

Administrator of the Van Buren County Detention Center, P.O. Box 

451, Clinton, Arkansas 72031. 

3. The Court must screen Pinney' s complaint, as amended. NQ 2, 

6, 9, 11 & 12. Pinney alleges he was unlawfully arrested and wrongfully 

charged with terroristic threatening. NQ 2. He is currently in custody 

awaiting trial on those charges. The Court must abstain from 

proceeding with Pinney' s federal case because the criminal case is 

ongoing, Arkansas has an important interest in enforcing its criminal 

laws, and Pinney 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, there's no indication of 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 must therefore be put on hold until 

there's a final disposition of Pinney' s pending state charges. Wallace v. 

Kato, 549 U.S. 384, 393-94 (2007); Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. v. 

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

4. Pinney also makes numerous other claims - conditions of 

confinement, failure to protect, medical indifference, and due process 

violations. NQ 2, 6 & 9. Those claims aren't properly joined in this case 

and therefore are dismissed without prejudice. FED. R. CIV. P. 20. If 

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Case 4:19-cv-00138-DPM Document 16 Filed 03/15/19 Page 2 of 3
Pinney wants to pursue these claims, then he must do so in a separate 

lawsuit. 

* * * 

The Court directs the Clerk to stay and administratively terminate 

this case. All pending motions are denied as moot. Pinney can move 

to reopen this case after final disposition of his state case, including any 

appeal. Any motion to reopen must be filed within sixty days of that 

final disposition. If Pinney doesn't file a timely motion to reopen or a 

status report by 16 March 2020, then the Court will reopen the case and 

dismiss it without prejudice. 

So Ordered. 

V 

D.P. Marshall Jr. 

United States District Judge 

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