# FILED



# ORIGI[\[At llutllt 

# @nitl! 

# $tsttg [.ourt of

# frlrru[ [,lsimg No. 15-266C 

### (Filed: June

### 29,2015) 

### (NOT TO BE PUBLTSTTED)

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### UNITED STATES, JUN

# 2I 2015 U.S, COURT OF FEDERALCI.AIMS 

### ROSCOE

### ARTIS, ) ) ) 

# Plaintiff, ) ) ) ) ) ) 

# Defendant. )



### t **,f * * * * * * * * *'N. * *.,t * **,| * * * * * * * * * {' * * **

Roscoe Artis, 

### pro se, 

### Norlina, 

### North Carolina.
Russell J. 

### Upton, 

### Trial Attorney, Commercial 

### Litigation Branch, 

### Civil Division, United States Department 

### of Justice, Washington, 

### D.C., for defendant. 

### With him onthe 

### brief were 

### Benjamin C. 

### Mizer, Principal Deputy Assistant 

### Attomey General, Robert E. Kirschman, Jr., 

### Director, and Scott D. 

### Austin, Assistant 

### Director, Commercial 

### Litigation Branch, 

### Civil Division, United States Department 

### of Justice, 

### Washingon, D.C. 

### OPINION AND ORDERI LETTOW, Judge. 

### Plaintiff; Roscoe 

### Artis, seeks a more thorough 

### "investigat[ion]" into his 

### criminal conviction 

### ofmurder in the

### first degree. Compl. at

# l. Pending before the court is the 

### govemment's motion to dismiss 

### for lack 

### of subject matter

### jurisdiction pursuantto 

### Rule 

### l2(b)(l) rAlong 

### with his 

### complaint, 

### Mr. Artis submitted an

### application

### to proceed 

### informa pauperis. See

### Application to Proceed in

### forma pauperis, ECF 

### No.

### 4. Mr. Artis is 

### currently incarcerated, and he appended 

### to his 

### application a 

### certified copy 

### ofhis trustfund account, as required 

### by 28 

### U.S.c. g 1915(a)(2). see 

### id. The statement 

### ofaccount shows a balance 

### of s27.14 as

### of March

### 26,2015. Id. 

### at3. In these circumstances, 28 

### U.S.C. $ 1915(b) specifies the amount 

### of the

### filing fee that 

### Mr. 

### Arlis is obliged to 

### pay. The 

### application to proceed 

### informa pauperis 

### will consequently be granted, subject

### to 

### Mr.

### Artis' payment 

### ofthe requisite 

### filing fee 

### in installments. See 28 

### U.S.C. $ 1915(bX2).

### ofthe Rules

### ofthe Court ofFederal Claims 

### ("RCFC") and 

### for failure to state a

### claim upon 

### which

relief may be granted pursuant 

### to RCFC 12(bX6). ,See 

### Def.'s 

### Mot.to Dismiss 

### Compl. 

### ("Def.'s Mot.") at 

### I, ECF 

### No. 5. 

### BACKGROUND
Mr.

### A(is is 

### currently serving a 

### life sentence in the 

### Lumberton Correctional Institution 

### in Lumberton, 

### North Carolina,for his 

### conviction 

### of murder 

### in the

### first degree 

### ofJoann Brockman. See 

### North Carolina v.

### Artis,384 S.E.2d 4'10 

### (N.C. 1989),judgment vacated,494 U.S. 1023 (1990), on remand to

### 406 S.E.2d 827 

### (N.C. 1991); seec/so 

### Def.'s 

### Mot.Attach. 

### A (North Carolina Department 

### of Public Safety,

### Offender Public Information Database, 

### Information 

### lor Offender 

### ID No. 0011291 (Roscoe 

### Artis)). Mr. Artis asserts that 

### "[his] whole case was done 

### illegally," Compl. at 1, and his 

### complaint "appears 

### to allege claims 

### of prosecutorial misconduct, due process 

### violations, and 

### ineffective assistance

### ofcounsel," Def.'s 

### Mot. at 2. 

### Mr. Artis avers that there were 

### individuals involved in his case "as witnesses who were never called on 

### by [his] lawyer or the 

### prosecut[ing] 

### attomey." Compl. at

### 2. These witnesses include the

### victim's aunt,

### who saw the

### victim shortly before her murder, and the

### victim's alleged 

### boyfriend, who "had been by the

### victim's house [and the

### victim's aunt's 

### bam] looking for [the 

### victiml." Compl. at

## 2. Mr. Artis further alleges that since 

### "[the prosecution]

### still didn't have enough 

### evidence[]to convict,

. . .

### they

. . .

### fbund a

### girl



## ... [whose] testimony had been coerce[d] and changed to make 

### it seem

### flike Mr. Artis was

### guilty]." Compl. at

### 3. Mr.

### Artis' attorney also 

### allegedly 

### "told [him] he

### couldn't put [the

### victim's mother, 

### who found the

### victim's body,] on the stand

. . 

### . [despite 

### Mr.

### Artis' claim that] she [wa]s the key 

### witness." Compl. at

## 4. Instead, 

### Mr. Artis asserts that he was 

### told that 

### "[he] couldn't fight 

### back." Compl. at 6. 

### STANDARDS FOR 

### DECISION 

## A. Subject 

### Matter 

### Jurisdiction
In every instance, the 

### "court must satisfy 

### itselfthat it has

### jurisdiction to hear and decide a case before proceeding 

### tothe 

### merits." Hardiev. United 

### States,367 

### F.3d1298,1290 (Fed. 

### Cir. 2004) 

### (quoting PIN/NIP, Inc. v. 

### Platte Chem. 

### Co.,304 F.3d 

### 1235,124t (Fed. 

### Cir. 2002)) 

### (intemal quotation marks 

### omitted). The court

### will "normally consider the facts alleged in the 

### complaint to betrue and 

### correct" when considering a 

### motion to dismiss under 

### Rule 12(b)(1) 

### for lack

### ofsubject matter 

### jurisdiction. Reynolds v.

### Army&Air Force 

### Exch.\erv.,846F.2d,j46,747 (Fed. 

### Cir. 1988) 

### (citing Scheuer v. 

### Rhodes,4l6 U.S. 

### 232,236 (1974); 

### Air prods. and Chems., 

### Inc. v. 

### ReicholdChems., 

### [nc.,755F.2d1559,1562n.4(Fed.Cir. 1984)). The 

### plaintiff bears the burden

### of"alleg[ing] in his pleading the facts essential 

### to show [subject matter]

### jurisdiction" by apreponderance

### ofthe evidence. McNutt v. General 

### Motors Acceptance 

### Corp. of

### \nd.,298 U.S. I

### 78, 189 (1936); see also Reyno Ids, 846 F.2d ar 748.
The

### Tucker

### Act confers 

### jurisdiction on this court 

### to "renderjudgment upon any 

### claim against the 

### United Statesfounded either uponthe 

### Constitution, or any

### Act of Congress or any regulation 

### ofan executive department, 

### or upon any express or 

### implied contract 

### with the 

### UnitedStates, or

### for liquidated or unliquidated damages 

### in cases 

### not sounding 

### in

### tort." 28 U.S.C.



### $ 

### 1a91(a)(l). The Tucker 

### Act waives sovereign 

### immunity, authorizing a claimant 

### to sue the 

### United States 

### for monetary 

### damages. United States v. 

### Mitchell,463 U.S. 

### 206,212 (1983). Nonetheless, theTucker 

### Act itselfdoes not 

### provide a substantive 

### right to monetary 

### relief against the 

### United States. United States v. 

### Testan,424 

### U.5.392,398 (197 6); see also 

### Martinez v. United States,333 F.3d 1295, 1302-03 (Fed. 

### Cir.2003) (en 

### banc). Rather 

### "[a] substantive 

### right must be 

### found in some other source 

### of 

### law." Milchell,463 U.S.

### at216. To

### faliwithin the scope

### of the 

### Tucker

### Act, a

### plaintiff must establish an independent 

### right to monetary damages 

### by 

### identifying a substantive source 

### oflaw that mandates payment 

### from the 

### United States 

### for the 

### injury suffered. See Testan, 424 U.S. 

### at 400; seealso 

### Ferreiro v. United 

### States,501 F.3d 1

### 349, 1351-52 (Fed. 

### Cir.2007) (citing Fisher v. United 

### States,402F.3d 1167,1172 (Fed. 

### Cir. 2005) (en banc 

### in relevant part)). 

## B. Failure to State a Clarm


### To survive a 

### motion to dismiss 

### for failure to state a

### claim, a

### complaint must "contarn 

### sufficient factual matter, accepted astrue, 

### to 'state a

### claim to relief that is plausible on its 

### face."' Ashcroft v. 

### Iqbal,556 U.S. 662,678 (2009) 

### (quoting Bell 

### Atl. Corp. v. 

### Twombly,550 U.S. 544, 570 

### (2007)). 

### A claim is

### facially plausible 

### "when the 

### plaintiff pleads factual content that 

### allows the court 

### to draw the reasonable inference thatthe defendant is 

### liable for the misconduct 

### alleged," id. 

### (citing Twombly,550 U.S. at

### 556). Moreover, thefacts alleged must 

### "'plausibly suggest[] (not 

### merely [be] consistent

### with)' a showing 

### of entitlement 

### to relief

## ." Cary v. United States,552 F.3d 1373, 1376 (Fed. 

### Cir. 2009) 

### (quoting Twombly,550 U.S. at

### 557). While the 

### complaint "does not need detailed factual 

### allegations," Twombly,550 U.S. at 555, 

### it must aver more than 

### "'naked assertion[s]' devoid 

### of'further lactual enhancement,"' 

### Iqbal,556 U.S. at 678 

### (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557) (alteration 

### in original), or 

### "the-defendant-unlar,firlly-harmedme-accusation[s]," id. 

### (citing Twombly,550 U.S. at

### 555). When determining whether the 

### plaintifihas pled factsthat are adequate 

### to allow the court 

### to infer that his 

### right to 

### reliefis plausible-not merely 

### possible-the court must 

### "draw on its

### judicial experience and common 

### sense." 1d.

### at679. Overall, the court 

### "must accept astrue the 

### complaint's undisputed factual allegations and should construethem 

### in a 

### light most favorable to the 

### plaintiff." Cambridge v. United States,558 

### F.3d 1331, 1335 (Fed. 

### Cir. 2009) 

### (citing Papasan v.

### Allain,478 U.S.265,283 (1986); Gould, 

### Inc. 

### v. United States, 935 

### F.2d 127 1, 1274 (Fed. 

### Cir. 199 1)). 

### ANALYSIS 

## A. Subject 

### Matter

### Jurisdiction
Mr.

### Artis'claims fall outside the ambit 

### of this court's 

### jurisdiction. To the extent 

### Mr. Artis has alleged 

### constitutional violations 

### ofdue process, this court has no

### jurisdictional power to address such 

### claims. "Although this court may exercise

### jurisdiction over claims 

### 'founded

. . . upon the 

### Constitution,' the scope

### of this court's 

### jurisdiction over 

### constitutional claims is 

### limited to claims arising under 

### provisions ofthe 

### Constitution that mandate the payment 

### of 

### money." 

### Miller v. United 

### States,67 Fed. 

### Cl. 195, 199 (2005) 

### (citing 28 U.S.C 

### $ 

### lagl(a)(1)). Mr.

### Artis' asserted 

### violations of the Due Process Clauses in the 

### Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments are not 

### by themselves 

### money-mandating. See 

### LeBlancv. United States,50 

### F.3d 1025, 1028 (Fed.

### Cir. 1995); see

### alsoJamesv. Caldera,159 F.3d 

### 573,581 (Fed. 

### Cir.

1998) 

### ("[T]he Court 

### of Federal 

### Claims lacks

### jurisdiction over [Due Process Clause claims] because [the Due Process Clause]

. . . 

### is [not] a money-mandating 

### provision."); Wagstaff v. United States,

### i05 Fed. 

### Cl. 99, 109 

### (2012),alf'd,595 Fed.

### Appx. 975 (Fed. 

### Cir. 2014). Therefore, the 

### court lacks

### jurisdiction to adjudicate 

### Mr.

### Artis' constitutional claims.


### In sum, 

### Mr. Artis has 

### failed to present any 

### claim that 

### falls 

### within the court's 

### jurisdiction.



## B. Fqilure to State a 

### Claim
Inthe 

### altemative, the govemment argues that 

### Mr.

### Artis' complaint should be dismissed pursuant

### to RCFC I

### 2(bX6)

### for failure to state a 

### claim upon 

### which relief can be

### granted. 

### Def.'s Mot. at

# l. Even 

### liberally construed, the 

### complaint does not include a

### facially plausible showing 

### of wrongdoing by the 

### United States. See

### Compl.;see also 

### lqbal,556 U.S. at 

### 678. Mr.

### Artis' assertions amount 

### to a

### collateral challenge 

### ofhis conviction and 

### incarceration. Compl. at I 

### ("I[']m not 

### guilty and never

### was. 

### My whole case was done 

### illegally."). Mr. Artis contests the conduct 

### ofhis attorney and the prosecutor 

### during his

### trial. See 

### Compl.

## at2,4,& 6. This court does not have

### jurisdiction to hear claims against 

### individuals, including state and 

### local govemmental 

### officials or 

### employees. 

### "[T]he only proper defendant 

### for any matter before this court is the 

### United States, 

### not its 

### officers, nor any other 

### individual." Stephenson 

### v. United Stales, 58 Fed. 

### Cl. 186, 190 (2003) (emphasis 

### in original) 

### (citing United States v. Sherwood, 

### 312 U.S. 584, 588

### (1941). Because 

### Mr. Artis fails to stale alleged

### wrongdoing by thefederal govemment in his 

### complaint, see 

### Compl., 

### it is 

### accordingly improper 

### in this courl,.tee 

### May Co. v. United 

### States,38 Fed. 

### Cl. 414, 416 (1997) (dismissing 

### complaint where 

### plaintiff did 

### not "even 

### intimate how the 

### United States

. . .was or 

### would have been 

### involved in the 

### [dispute]") (emphasis 

### in original). 

### Accordingly, Mr. Artis fails to state a

### claim upon 

### which relief can be granted. 

### CONCLUSION
Mr.

### Artis' request 

### to proceed in

### forma pauperis is 

### GRANTED.2 Forthe reasons stated, the 

### govemment's motion to dismiss is 

### GRANTED, and 

### Mr. 

### Artis' complaint is dismissed pursuant

### to RCFC 12(bX 1)

### for lack 

### of subject matter

### jurisdiction and, 

### altematively, pursuantto 

### RCFC 

### l2(bx6) for failure to state a

### claim upon 

### which relief can be

### granted. The 

### clerk shall 

### enterjudgment in accord

### with this disposition.


### No costs.

2Pursuant

### to 28 

### U.S.C. $ 1915(bX2), the 

### clerk shall assess, and 

### Mr. Artis shall make, 

### "monthly payments 

### of20 percent 

### of the preceding 

### month's income credited to the 

### prisoner's account" 

### over $ 10, 

### until the

### filing fee has been paid.

### It is so 

### ORDERED.

Judge