United States Ex Rel. William Brandon Cummings v. JEAN K. FITZSIMON, UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY JUDGE William Brandon Cummings

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DLD-227 NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
No. 09-1664
UNITED STATES EX REL.
WILLIAM BRANDON CUMMINGS,
v.
JEAN K. FITZSIMON,
UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY JUDGE
William Brandon Cummings,
Appellant
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
(D.C. Misc. No. 2-08-mc-00125)
District Judge: Honorable Thomas N. O’Neill, Jr.
Submitted for Possible Dismissal Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)
or Summary Action Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6
June 25, 2009
Before: BARRY, AMBRO AND SMITH, Circuit Judges
(Opinion filed: July 21, 2009)
OPINION

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1 Section 517 provides:
The Solicitor General, or any officer of the Department of Justice, may be
sent by the Attorney General to any State or district in the United States to
attend to the interests of the United States in a suit pending in a court of the
United States, or in a court of a State, or to attend to any other interest of
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PER CURIAM
Appellant William Brandon Cummings, a Pennsylvania state prisoner, filed a
claim for quo warranto, purportedly on behalf of the United States, against United States
Bankruptcy Judge Jean K. FitzSimon in the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Pennsylvania, seeking to compel the judge to protect and defend the United
States Constitution. Cummings alleged that Judge FitzSimon had accepted currency not
backed by gold or silver as required by the Constitution. He also claimed that the judge
had conspired with others to deprive him of property in a proceeding before her, In re:
George Michael Green, Bankr. Ct. Misc. No. 08-3005, a bankruptcy case where
Cummings’s name appears on the docket. Cummings also filed a petition for writ of
habeas corpus, naming the bankruptcy judge as the respondent and seeking release from
prison. Cummings alleged, among other things, that the District Attorney of Delaware
County failed to sign the criminal complaint against him.
The Acting United States Attorney, in response, filed a Statement of Interest
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 517 on behalf of a federal bankruptcy judge, asking the District
Court to sua sponte dismiss the action on the ground that it failed to state any valid claim
for relief.1 A claim for quo warranto, habeas or mandamus relief will not lie against a

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the United States.
28 U.S.C. § 517. Quo warranto is traditionally brought by the sovereign or a
representative of the sovereign. See Country Club Estates L.L.C. v. Town of Loma
Linda, 213 F.3d 1001, 1003 (8th Cir. 2000).
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federal judge under the circumstances alleged by Cummings. The Government
represented that Cummings is an inmate incarcerated in state prison for second degree
murder, robbery, and illegal possession of firearms, having been convicted in October of
2006 following a jury trial. In an order entered on January 22, 2009, the District Court
dismissed both petitions for the reasons given by the Government in its Statement of
Interest.
Cummings appeals. Our Clerk granted him leave to appeal in forma pauperis and
advised him that his appeal was subject to summary dismissal under 28 U.S.C. §
1915(e)(2)(B), or summary affirmance under Third Cir. LAR 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6. He
was invited to submit argument in writing, and he has done so.
We will dismiss the appeal as frivolous. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §
1291. An appellant may prosecute his appeal without prepayment of the fees, 28 U.S.C. §
1915(a)(1), but the in forma pauperis statute provides that the Court shall dismiss the
appeal at any time if the Court determines that it is frivolous, 28 U.S.C. §
1915(e)(2)(B)(i). An appeal is frivolous when it lacks an arguable basis either in law or
fact. Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989).
“Quo warranto” is the appropriate process for testing title to public office. See

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United States v. Malmin, 272 F. 785, 790 (3d Cir. 1921). However, pursuant to a joint
resolution of Congress during the Great Depression, Congress suspended the “gold
standard.” See Norman v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co., 294 U.S. 240, 303-07 (1935).
See also United States v. Ware, 608 F.2d 400, 403 (10th Cir. 1979). Cummings’s
“constitutional” argument that a federal bankruptcy judge’s actions are invalid because
the federal reserve system is based on something other than the gold standard is thus
legally frivolous. The judge does not violate the federal constitution by handling a
bankruptcy case involving money not backed by gold or silver. The claim for quo
warranto properly was dismissed with prejudice. The petition for writ of habeas corpus
properly was dismissed without prejudice, because Judge FitzSimon is not the proper
respondent. In habeas corpus challenges to present physical confinement, the rule is that
the proper respondent is the warden of the facility where the prisoner is being held.
Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426, 435 (2004). Judge FitzSimon is not the warden of the
state correctional facility where Cummings is incarcerated.
For the foregoing reasons, we will dismiss the appeal as frivolous pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i).

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