Kinney v. Brazelton, et al.

Filing 32

ORDER Denying Pitchess Motion (ECF No. 31 ), signed by Magistrate Judge Michael J. Seng on 6/17/2015. (Fahrney, E)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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DIJON KINNEY ,

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Plaintiff,
v.

CASE NO. 1:14-cv-00503-AWI-MJS (PC)
ORDER DENYING PITCHESS MOTION
(ECF No. 31)

P.D. BRAZELTON, et al.,
Defendants.

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Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil

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rights action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The action proceeds against

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Defendant Flores on Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment claims for medical indifference and

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cruel and unusual punishment.

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Before the Court is Plaintiff’s July 10, 2015 Pitchess motion. (ECF No. 31.) A

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Pitchess motion relates to criminal proceedings and is misplaced in this federal civil

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action. See People v. Mooc, 26 Cal. 4th 1216, 1219-20 (2001) (a Pitchess motion allows

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a criminal defendant to compel discovery of evidence from arresting officer’s personnel

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file). Plaintiff was required to seek discovery in compliance with the Federal Rule of Civil

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Procedure 34, which requires Plaintiff to serve Defendant with a request for the

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production of documents. If Defendant objected to the request and Plaintiff believed the

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documents to be discoverable, Plaintiff’s recourse was to file a motion to compel.

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However, discovery in this action closed on July 7, 2015,1 and Plaintiff was required to

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serve his discovery requests on Defendant forty five days prior to that date. (ECF No.

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20.) Motions to compel also were due by July 7, 2015. Accordingly, the time for Plaintiff

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to seek Defendant Flores’s personnel records has passed.

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Regardless, Plaintiff may not file a request for documents from Defendant’s
personnel files directly with the Court. His inappropriate Pitchess motion is denied.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:

July 17, 2015

/s/

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Michael J. Seng

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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The discovery deadline since has been extended to and including July 21, 2015 for the limited purpose of
taking Plaintiff’s deposition in Arizona.

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