Opinion ID: 197458
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Pro se leniency.

Text: 24 Finally, Ahmed contends that he should have been accorded greater leniency due to his pro se status. Our judicial system zealously guards the attempts of pro se litigants on their own behalf. We are required to construe liberally a pro se complaint and may affirm its dismissal only if a plaintiff cannot prove any set of facts entitling him or her to relief. See Rockwell v. Cape Cod Hosp., 26 F.3d 254, 255 (1st Cir.1994). However, pro se status does not insulate a party from complying with procedural and substantive law. See Eagle Eye Fishing Corp. v. United States Dep't. of Commerce, 20 F.3d 503, 506 (1st Cir.1994). The policy behind affording pro se plaintiffs liberal interpretation is that if they present sufficient facts, the court may intuit the correct cause of action, even if it was imperfectly pled. This is distinct from the case at hand, in which the formal elements of the claim were stated without the requisite supporting facts. 25 Ahmed's pro se status was clearly recognized by both the magistrate judge and district court: the magistrate judge noted in his report and recommendation that Ahmed was proceeding pro se, while Judge Pettine's order specifically recognized that Ahmed was pro se and that his complaint was therefore to be construed liberally. 7 However, Judge Pettine also stated that even under a liberal interpretation of his complaint, Ahmed failed to adequately allege the elements of a RICO violation. We agree. 26