Copeland v. State of Arkansas

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
FAYETTEVILLE DIVISION
RICHARD BRIAN COPELAND 	PLAINTIFF
V. 	CASE NO. 5:26-CV-5006
STATE OF ARKANSAS 	DEFENDANT
ORDER
On January 15, 2026, the Honorable Christy Comstock, United States Magistrate
Judge for the Western District of Arkansas, issued a Report and Recommendation
(Doc. 5) regarding Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Doc. 2).
Plaintiff has removed his state criminal prosecution to this Court because of alleged
malicious prosecution, denial of due process, search and seizure violations, chain of
custody errors and evidence tampering, and ineffective assistance of counsel. The
Magistrate Judge recommends summarily remanding the case back to state court and
denying leave to proceed in this forum. On January 20, 2026, Plaintiff filed Objections to
the R&R (Doc. 6) which triggered this Court’s de novo review of the record.
As the R&R thoroughly explains, removal jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1443(1)
is very limited and only permitted when the plaintiff satisfies a two-pronged test. The
R&R details why Plaintiff has failed to satisfy either prong, and the Court agrees with
that 	analysis. 	Plaintiff’s 	Objections 	fail 	to 	engage 	meaningfully 	with 	the 	R&R’s
reasoning; he simply repeats the arguments he raised in the Complaint.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Objections are OVERRULED; the R&R
is ADOPTED in full; the Motion for Leave to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Doc. 2) is
DENIED AS MOOT; and the Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to SUMMARILY REMAND
this case to the Circuit Court of Washington County, Arkansas.
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IT IS SO ORDERED on this 18th day of February, 2026.
/s/ Timothy L. Brooks
TIMOTHY L. BROOKS
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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