Agwu Nwoke v. Village of Bolingbrook, Illinois

NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION
To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1
United States Court of Appeals
For the Seventh Circuit
Chicago, Illinois 60604
Submitted December 8, 2009*
Decided December 10, 2009
Before
FRANK H. EASTERBROOK, Chief Judge
RICHARD D. CUDAHY, Circuit Judge
ILANA DIAMOND ROVNER, Circuit Judge
No. 09-2494
AGWU NWOKE,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
VILLAGE OF BOLINGBROOK, ILLINOIS,
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United
States District Court for the
Northern District of Illinois,
Eastern Division.
No. 09 C 2764
Charles P. Kocoras, Judge.
Order
After receiving a ticket for running a red light, Agwu Nwoke filed this suit in federal
court under 42 U.S.C. §1983. He accuses the Village of Bolingbrook of malicious prose-
cution on the theory that its police force issues tickets to raise revenue rather than to
enforce the traffic laws.
The district court dismissed the suit in a curt order that does not provide reasons,
and thus violates Circuit Rule 50. The suit may have been dismissed for failure to prose-
cute (Nwoke failed to appear at a scheduled hearing) or on the merits; if the latter, the
district court’s reasons for thinking the complaint defective were not stated. But there
would be no point to a remand, because the complaint is incurably deficient. There is no
federal-law claim for malicious prosecution, if state law provides remedies for that tort
(as Illinois does). See Newsome v. McCabe, 256 F.3d 747 (7th Cir. 2001). Other potential
problems with Nwoke’s theory need not be explored.
AFFIRMED
* After examining the briefs and the record, we have concluded that oral argument is unnecessary. See
Fed. R. App. P. 34(a); Cir. R. 34(f).

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