Bryant v. Gallagher et al

Filing 229

ORDER REGARDING Consent to Magistrate Judge Jurisdiction; ORDER DIRECTING Clerk of Court to Send Consent Form to Defendants; Ten (10) Day Deadline signed by District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill on 3/21/2016. (Sant Agata, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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KEVIN DARNELL BRYANT,

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Plaintiff,

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v.
GALLAGHER, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Case No.: 1:11-cv-00446-LJO-BAM (PC)
ORDER REGARDING CONSENT TO
MAGISTRATE JUDGE JURISDICTION
ORDER DIRECTING CLERK OF COURT TO
SEND CONSENT FORM TO DEFENDANTS
TEN (10) DAY DEADLINE

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Plaintiff Kevin Darnell Bryant (“Plaintiff”) is state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma

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pauperis in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Now that Plaintiff’s motion for

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summary judgment has been denied, this matter proceeds on Plaintiff’s claims against Defendant

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Romero for deliberate indifference to serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment,

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and against Defendants Gallagher and Romero for conspiracy, retaliation in violation of the First

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Amendment, and failure to protect in violation of the Eighth Amendment.
Plaintiff consented to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction for all purposes in this matter on March 30,

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2011. (ECF No. 7.) Defendants Gallagher and Romero previously declined Magistrate Judge

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jurisdiction on February 28, 2012. (ECF No. 52).
Now that the case is ready to be set for trial, the parties are advised of the following important

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information about scheduling and trailing cases before the undersigned:

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District Court Judges of the Fresno Division of the Eastern District of California have the

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heaviest caseload in the nation. As a result, each District Judge schedules multiple trials to begin on

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each available trial date. Civil cases will trail and begin as soon as a courtroom is cleared. The law

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requires that the Court give any criminal trial priority over civil trials or any other matter. A civil trial

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set to begin while a criminal trial is proceeding will trail the completion of the criminal trial.
The Court cannot give advance notice of which cases will trail or for how long because the

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Court does not know which cases actually will go to trial or precisely how long each will last. Once

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your trial date arrives, counsel, parties and witnesses must remain on 24-hour-stand-by until a court

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opens. Since continuance to a date certain will simply postpone, but not solve, the problem,

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continuances of any civil trial under these circumstances will no longer be entertained, absent a

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specific and stated finding of good cause. The Court will use its best efforts to mitigate the effect of

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the foregoing and to resolve all cases in a timely manner.

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One alternative is for the parties to consent to a United States Magistrate Judge conducting all

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proceedings, including trial and entry of final judgment, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), Federal Rule

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of Civil Procedure 73, and Local Rule 305. The Eastern District Magistrate Judges, all experienced

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former trial lawyers, use the same jury pool and same court facilities as United States District Court

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Judges. Since Magistrate Judges do not conduct felony trials, they have greater flexibility and schedule

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firm trial dates. Judgment entered by a United States Magistrate Judge is appealable directly to the

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United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit. (While there are scheduling benefits to consenting

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to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction, substantive rulings and decisions will not be affected by whether a

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party chooses to consent or not. Declining jurisdiction of a Magistrate Judge for all purposes will have

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no effect on the merits of a party’s case or have any adverse substantive consequences.)

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As another response to its large caseload, the Fresno Division of the Eastern District of

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California is assigning cases, whenever possible, to Article III District Court Judges from around the

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nation as Visiting Judges. Pursuant to the Local Rules, Appendix A, such reassignments will be

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random, and the parties will receive no advance notice before their case is reassigned to an Article III

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District Court Judge from outside of the Eastern District of California.

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Accordingly, it is HEREBY ORDERED that:

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The Clerk’s Office shall send to Defendants a consent/decline form;

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2.

Within ten (10) days from the date of service of this order, Defendants may return the

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form to the Court indicating whether they choose to consent or decline to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction

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for all further proceedings in this matter, including trial and entry of final judgment; and

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3.

After the ten (10) day deadline, if both parties have not consented to Magistrate Judge

jurisdiction, the matter will be set for jury trial before the undersigned.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

/s/ Lawrence J. O’Neill

March 21, 2016

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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