Meyer v. Alaska Public Defender

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF SOUTH DAKOTA
WESTERN DIVISION
SHAUN MEYER,
Plaintiff,
vs.
ALASKA PUBLIC DEFENDER,
Defendant.
CIV. 21-5013-JLV
ORDER
Plaintiff Shaun Meyer, appearing pro se, filed a complaint pursuant to the
Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552. 	(Docket 1). 	Mr. Meyer seeks
records from the Defendant Alaska Public Defender for the time period of
2002-2006. 	Id.
Because Mr. Meyer is proceeding pro se, his pleadings must be liberally
construed and his complaint, “however inartfully pleaded, must be held to less
stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” 	Erickson v.
Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).
“[F]ederal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction . . . .” 	United States v.
Afremov, 611 F.3d 970, 975 (8th Cir. 2010). 	“[A] court may not proceed at all in
a case unless it has jurisdiction.” 	Crawford v. F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd., 267
F.3d 760, 764 (8th Cir. 2001). 	“[F]ederal courts are obligated to raise the issue
of subject-matter jurisdiction sua sponte.” 	Id. at 764, n.2 (citing Andrus v.
Charlestone Stone Products Co., 436 U.S. 604, 608 n.6 (1978)).
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2
Mr. Meyer is a federal prisoner housed in Rochester, Minnesota. 	(Docket
1). 	See also Federal Bureau of Prisons, Inmate Locator, https://www.bop.gov/
inmateloc/ (last visited March 25, 2022).
The Alaska Public Defender’s Office is the Federal Public Defender for the
District of Alaska and has no offices or personnel in the District of South
Dakota.1 	The District Court for the District of South Dakota has no jurisdiction
over the Alaska Public Defender, its staff or attorneys. 	In other words, the court
has no subject-matter jurisdiction. 	Accordingly, it is
ORDERED that plaintiff’s complaint (Docket 1) is dismissed without
prejudice.
Dated May 4, 2022.
BY THE COURT:
/s/ Jeffrey L. Viken
JEFFREY L. VIKEN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
1 See https://ak.fd.org/ (last visited March 25, 2022).
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