Leonard Alfred Carpenter

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
In re
LEONARD CARPENTER,
Debtor.
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Case No. 10-00572
(Chapter 7)
Not for Publication in
West’s Bankruptcy Reporter
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER DISMISSING EMERGENCY
MOTION FOR RELIEF FOR VIOLATION OF THE AUTOMATIC STAY
The debtor has filed an Emergency Motion for Relief for
Violation of the Automatic Stay by District of Columbia Superior
Court Judge Hon. Brian Holeman (Dkt. No. 12). 	The motion alleges
that on June 2, 2010, District of Columbia Superior Court Judge
Brian F. Holeman found the debtor to be in civil contempt in
connection with certain civil proceedings, ordered the debtor to
pay $3,000 to the plaintiff’s counsel in connection with certain
post-judgment discovery, and ordered that the debtor be
incarcerated. 	The debtor subsequently filed for relief under
Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code, and on June 11, 2010, filed in
the Superior Court a Suggestion of Stay and Requirement that
The document below is signed. The clerk shall additionally mail a
copy to Thomas C. Willcox, Esquire. Dated: June 21, 2010.
______________________
S. Martin Teel, Jr.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge
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Defendant be Released from Imprisonment. 1 	After the debtor filed
the Suggestion of Stay and Requirement that Defendant be Released
from Imprisonment, the motion alleges that Judge Holeman’s law
clerk advised the debtor’s attorney telephonically that no action
had been or would be taken to release the debtor. 	On this basis,
the debtor asks the court to hold Judge Holeman in contempt for a
willful violation of the automatic stay and award compensatory
and punitive damages and attorney’s fees pursuant to 11 U.S.C.
§ 362(h). 2
To the extent it constitutes an ongoing act to collect a
debt, the debtor may be correct that his continued incarceration
under Judge Holeman’s prepetition civil contempt order violates
the automatic stay. 	If the debtor seeks damages for such a
violation, however, he must pursue such relief against the
creditor to whom the debtor was ordered to pay the $3,000 fine,
not the judge who ordered the debtor’s incarceration, because
“[j]udicial officers enjoy absolute judicial immunity from suits
for money damages for all actions taken in the judge’s judicial
capacity, unless these actions are taken in the complete absence
1 	The motion indicates that the Suggestion of Stay and
Requirement that Defendant be Released from Imprisonment is
attached to the motion as Exhibit B. 	Exhibit B, however, is a
pleading that relates to the bankruptcy case of Frank Robert
Cook, Case No. 08-00317 (Bankr. D.D.C.) and has no apparent
connection to these proceedings.
2 	The debtor likely intended to invoke 11 U.S.C. § 362(k),
not § 362(h).
2
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of all jurisdiction.” 	Gallo-Rodriguez v. Supreme Court of U.S.,
WL 3878073, at *1 (D.D.C. Nov. 19, 2009) (internal quotations and
citations omitted). 	See also In re Williams, 144 B.R. 847, 849
(Bankr. E.D. Ark. 1992) (dismissing adversary complaint brought
against circuit court judge for alleged violation of the
automatic stay because, inter alia, judicial officers acting
within the bounds of their offices are immune from such damages
suits); 	In re Birchall, 2007 WL 1992089, at * 8 (Bankr. D. Mass.
July 3, 2007) (“As the incarceration is within the scope of the
automatic stay, the Creditor must take steps in [the state court]
to ensure that the incarceration for civil contempt is no longer
enforced and that the Debtor is released from incarceration.”);
In re Sutton, 250 B.R. 771, 774 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. 2000)
(“Although state court judges generally refrain from proceeding
once they are made aware of a bankruptcy filing, the burden is on
the creditor not to seek relief against a debtor in violation of
the stay.”). 	The debtor’s allegations against Judge Holeman all
relate to acts taken by Holeman in his capacity as a judicial
officer, and he is thus immune from the relief sought by the
debtor. 	It is thus
ORDERED that the debtor’s Emergency Motion for Relief for
Violation of the Automatic Stay by District of Columbia Superior
Court Judge Hon. Brian Holeman (Dkt. No. 12) is DISMISSED without
prejudice to the debtor’s pursuit of similar relief against the
3
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appropriate party.
[Signed and dated above.]
Copies to: Debtor; Debtor’s attorney; Chapter 7 Trustee; Office
of United States Trustee;
Hon. Brian Holeman
Moultrie Courthouse
500 Indiana Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
4	O:\TEEL\LSO\ORDERS\Contempt\Order_Emergency Motion for Relief for Judge's Violation of Automatic Stay_incarceration_Carpenter.wpd
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