Maldonado v. Yates et al

Filing 9

ORDER Denying Request For Return Of Original Document (Doc. 8 ), signed by Magistrate Judge Gary S. Austin on 2/12/2015. (Fahrney, E)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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BILLY RAY MALDONADO,

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Plaintiff,

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vs.

1:12-cv-00496-AWI-GSA (PC)
ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR
RETURN OF ORIGINAL DOCUMENT
(Doc. 8.)

JAMES YATES, et al.,

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Defendants.

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I.

BACKGROUND

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On April 2, 2012, Donald Wright (“Plaintiff”), a state prisoner proceeding pro per and

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in forma pauperis, filed the Complaint commencing this civil rights action pursuant to 42

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U.S.C. § 1983. (Doc. 1.)

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On February 9, 2015, Plaintiff filed a request for the court to return the original

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Complaint to him. (Doc. 8.)

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II.

CUSTODY OF DOCUMENTS; REQUEST FOR COPIES

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Plaintiff explains that he thought he was supposed to submit his medical documents

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with the Complaint, but later discovered this was not true. Now Plaintiff requests the Clerk to

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return his original Complaint to him.

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The Eastern District of California is an electronic case management/filing district

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(CM/ECF). L.R. 133. After a pro se party files a paper document, the Clerk transforms the
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paper filing into an electronic record and ultimately discards the paper filing. Id. Local Rules

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require that all paper files and records of the court remain in the custody of the Clerk. L.R.

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138. No one is permitted to take records, papers, or items belonging to the files of the court

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from the custody of the Clerk without a special order of the court and a receipt given by the

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party obtaining it, describing it and the date of its receipt. Id.

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Plaintiff was cautioned in the court’s First Informational Order not to send original

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exhibits to the court, and advised that he should retain his original exhibits and send

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photocopies to the court. (Doc. 3 at 4 ¶7.) Plaintiff was also advised about the procedure for

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obtaining copies of court documents. (Id. at 2 ¶3.)

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Even if the Clerk has not already discarded the paper filing, Plaintiff has not shown

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good cause for the court to issue a special order requiring the Clerk to relinquish custody of

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Plaintiff’s original Complaint.

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however, the Clerk does not ordinarily provide free copies of case documents to parties. The

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Clerk charges $.50 per page for copies of documents. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). Copies of up

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to 20 pages may be made by the Clerk's Office at this court upon written request and

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prepayment of the copy fees.

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sufficiently-large, self-addressed envelope affixed with sufficient postage, and prepayment of

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copy costs to the Clerk. The fact that the court has granted leave for Plaintiff to proceed in

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forma pauperis does not entitle him to free copies of documents from the court.1

Copies of the electronic record are available to Plaintiff;

Plaintiff must submit a request in writing to the Clerk, a

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For copy orders larger than 20 pages, copies of documents may be obtained from the

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court file by contacting Attorney's Diversified Services at 741 N. Fulton Street, Fresno,

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California 93728, 1-800−842−2695. Plaintiff’s Complaint, with its exhibits, is 145 pages long.

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Based on the foregoing, Plaintiff’s request shall be denied. Plaintiff is advised that in

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the future, he should retain his original exhibits and submit photocopies, and also should retain

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a copy of any document he submits to the court.

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In the future, if Plaintiff wants a file-stamped copy of a document returned for his own benefit,
he must submit the document for filing, a copy of the document, and a sufficiently large pre-addressed envelope
with sufficient postage affixed.
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III.

CONCLUSION
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's request for return of his

original Complaint is DENIED.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

February 12, 2015

/s/ Gary S. Austin
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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