Martinez Castro v. Unnamed Defendants

Filing 15

ORDER DENYING 14 Request for Early Discovery, without Prejudice; Thirty Day Deadline to File a Complaint in Compliance with the Court's Order of August 26, 2014 signed by Magistrate Judge Gary S. Austin on 9/13/2014. (Attachments: # 1 Complaint/IFP forms)(Sant Agata, S)

Download PDF
INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  FILING  A  COMPLAINT  IN  THE  EASTERN  DISTRICT  OF  CALIFORNIA  BY  A  PRISONER:  1. AGAINST  FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT  EMPLOYEES  UNDER  BIVENS  V.  SIX  UNKNOWN  NAMED  AGENTS  OF  FEDERAL BUREAU OF NARCOTICS, 403 U.S. 388(1971)  A   Bivens  action is available to challenge violations of the federal Constitution or federal statutes which  affect  the  conditions  of  your  confinement  or  your  treatment  by  Federal  government  employees.   Although you may ask for and obtain money damages or an injunction, the court cannot issue an order  which  could  affect  the  length  of  your  sentence  in  any  way.    Those  types  of  claims  may  be  raised  only  through a petition for writ of habeas corpus.  If you want to file a petition for writ of habeas corpus, you  must do so on the correct forms, which are provided by the Clerk of the Court on request.  2.  AGAINST  STATE  OR  LOCAL  GOVERNMENT  EMPLOYEES  UNDER  THE  CIVIL  RIGHTS  STATUTE  42  U.S.C.  1983  An  action  under  Section  1983  is  available  to  challenge  violations  of  the  federal  constitution  or  federal  statutes which affect the conditions of your confinement or your treatment by state or local government  employees.  Although you may ask for and obtain money damages or an injunction under Section 1983,  the court cannot issue an order which could affect the length of your sentence in any way.  Those types of  claims may be raised only through a petition for writ of habeas corpus.  If you want to file a petition for  writ of habeas corpus, you must do so on the correct forms, which are provided by the Clerk of the Court  on request.    I.  Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies    If there is an inmate appeal or administrative grievance process available at your institution, you may not  file  a  Bivens  Action,  Section  1983,  or  an  action  under  any  other  federal  law,  until  you  have  first  completed  (exhausted)  the  process  available  at  your  institution.    You  are  required  to  complete  the  inmate  appeal  or  administrative remedy process before filing suit, regardless of the relief offered by the process.  Booth v. Churner,  532  U.S.  731,  741  (2001);  McKinney  v.  Carey,  311  F.3d  1198,  1199  (9th  Cir.  2002).    Even  if  you  are  seeking  only  money  damages  and  the  inmate  appeal  or  administrative  remedy  process  does  not  provide  money,  you  must  exhaust the process before filing suit. Booth, 532 U.S. at 734.  II.  Packet  A copy of a complaint form is attached to this instruction sheet.  Included in the packet is an information sheet for  prisoners  seeking  leave  to  proceed  in  forma  pauperis  (without  prepayment  of  filing  fees)  and  a  copy  of  an  application to proceed in forma pauperis.  To file an action, you must send all of the following items to the court:     1.  An original complaint.  You must keep an additional copy of the complaint for your own records.  All  copies of the complaint must be identical to the original.  If you wish to have a conformed copy of your complaint  returned  to  you,  you  must  send,  in  addition  to  the  original,  one  extra  copy  and  provide  the  court  with  a  self‐ addressed postage paid envelope.    2.  Either a completed in forma pauperis application or the $400.00 filing fee (the filing fee is $350.00 plus  a $50.00 administrative fee).  NOTICE:      The $50.00 administrative fee does not apply to persons granted in forma pauperis status.  Leave to  proceed in forma pauperis allows a case to proceed without pre‐payment of the filing fee.  However, a prisoner  who brings a civil action in forma pauperis shall nevertheless be required to pay the $350.00 filing fee.  The court  shall collect the filing fees through deductions from the prisoner’s trust account.  Dismissal of the case does not  excuse payment of the full filing fee. See 28 U.S.C. 1915.  III.  Complaint Form  Your  complaint  must  be  legibly  handwritten  or  typewritten.    You  must  sign  the  complaint  and  declare  under  penalty of perjury that the facts stated in the complaint are correct.  Your complaint  must be no more than 25  pages. If you need additional space to answer a question, you should attach an additional blank page.  Please write  or type on only one side of the paper.  You are required to state facts in support of each claim.  The complaint  should refer to the provision of the federal constitution or federal law on which you are relying, but should not  contain legal arguments or citations.  Your complaint must be concise and should be brief as possible, not to exceed 25 pages.  Fed.R.Civ.P.8. Failure to  briefly  and  concisely  state  your  claim  may  result  in  an  order  striking  the  complaint.    In  most  cases  the  space  provided in the attached form should be sufficient.  IV.  Venue  The Fresno Division of the Eastern District of California is comprised of the following counties:  Fresno,  Calaveras, Inyo, Kern,  Kings, Madera,  Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare,  and  Tuolumne.   If you are  filing  your  case  in  the  Fresno  Division,  mail  all  completed  forms  described  in  part  II  to  the  following  address:            Clerk of the U.S. District Court  for the Eastern District of California  2500 Tulare Street, Room 1501  Fresno, CA  93721  The  Sacramento  Division  of  the  Eastern  District  of  California  is  comprised  of  the  following  counties:   Alpine,  Amador,  Butte,  Colusa,  El  Dorado,  Glenn,  Lassen,  Modoc,  Mono,  Nevada,  Placer,  Plumas,  Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, Yuba.  If you are  filing your case in the Sacramento Division, mail all completed forms described in part II to the following  address:    Clerk of the U.S. District Court    for the Eastern District of California    501 “I” Street, Suite 4200    Sacramento, CA  95814    V.  After the Complaint is Filed    Once the complaint is filed, the court will review it and decide whether to order service of the complaint  on the defendants.  You will be sent a copy of every order the court issues.  Because of the large volume  of cases filed by inmates pending in this court, the court WILL NOT ANSWER INQUIRIES concerning the  status of your complaint.        YOU  MUST KEEP THE COURT INFORMED OF ANY CHANGE OF ADDRESS.  IF  YOU FAIL TO DO  SO,  THE  CLERK  CANNOT  BE  RESPONSIBLE  FOR  YOUR  FAILURE  TO  RECEIVE  COURT  ORDERS.    THIS  COULD RESULT IN THE DISMISSAL OF YOUR SUIT.    The Clerk of the Court cannot provide copies of documents to litigants, except at a charge of fifty cents  ($0.50)  per  page.    This  charge  also  applies  to  litigants  proceeding  in  forma  pauperis.    Therefore  you  must keep copies of all documents submitted to the court for your own records.    VI.  Submission of Original Paper Exhibits    The Eastern District of California converted to an electronic filing service, and storage system, effective  January 3, 2005.  Pro Se litigants are exempt from the electronic filing requirement and must submit all  documents to the court in paper.  Local Rule 5‐133(b)(2).  Paper documents submitted by pro se litigants  for filing will be scanned into the electronic court file by the Clerk’s Office.   Local Rule 39‐138(d).  For  this  reason,  pro  se  litigants  are  cautioned  not  to  send  original  exhibits  to  the  court.    If  pro  se  litigants  choose  to  submit  exhibits  to  the  court,  the  litigants  shall  retain  their  original  exhibits  and  send  photocopies to the court.  Please keep in mind that your pleadings are taken as true at the initial state of  the litigation, so there is no need to attach exhibits to show the truth of your allegations.                          Plaintiff’s Name____________________________  Inmate No.________________________________  Address __________________________________  _________________________________________                  _________________________________________    IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT  FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA                    (Name of Plaintiff)    vs.                        CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT UNDER:            42 U.S.C. 1983 (State Prisoner)          Bivens Action [403 U.S. 388 (1971)] (Federal Prisoner)   ________________________________________      _________________________________________      _________________________________________    _________________________________________    _________________________________________    _________________________________________                 (Names of all Defendants)    (Case Number)    I. Previous Lawsuits (list all other previous or pending lawsuits on additional page):    A.  Have you brought any other lawsuits while a prisoner?   Yes____  No____    B.  If your answer to A is yes, how many? _________         Describe previous or pending lawsuits in the space below.  (If more than one, attach additional page to continue  outlining all lawsuits in same format.)      1. Parties to this previous lawsuit:          Plaintiff _______________________________________________________________________              Defendants ____________________________________________________________________       ______________________________________________________________________________          2.  Court (if Federal Court, give name of District; if State Court, give name of County)  _________________________________________________________________________________      3.  Docket Number _____________________         4.  Assigned Judge _________________________      5. Disposition  (Was the case dismissed? Appealed?  Is it still pending?)      _________________________________________________________________________________      6.  Filing Date (approx.) _________________          7.  Disposition Date (approx.) ________________    II.  Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies  NOTICE:            Pursuant to the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995, A[n]o action shall be brought with respect to prison conditions      under [42 U.S.C. ' 1983], or any other Federal law, by a prisoner confined in any jail, prison, or other correctional facility until such  administrative remedies as are available are exhausted.@  42 U.S.C. ' 1997e(a).  Prior to filing suit, inmates are required to exhaust  the available administrative remedy process, Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199, 211, 127 S.Ct. 910, 918‐19 (2007); McKinney v. Carey, 311  F.3d 1198, 1999 (9th Cir. 2002), and neither futility nor the unavailability of money damages will excuse the failure to exhaust, Porter  v. Nussle, 534 U.S. 516, 524, 122 S.Ct. 983, 988 (2002).  If the court determines that an inmate failed to exhaust prior to filing suit,  the unexhausted claims will be dismissed, without prejudice.  Jones, 549 U.S. at 223‐24, 127 S.Ct. at 925‐26. A.  Is there an inmate appeal or administrative remedy process available at your institution?             Yes_______  No______ B.  Have you filed an appeal or grievance concerning ALL of the facts contained in this complaint?          Yes______      No______    C.  Is the process completed?           Yes______    If your answer is yes, briefly explain what happened at each level.  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________   ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________           No______    If your answer is no, explain why not.  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  III.  Defendants  List each defendant’s full name, official position, and place of employment and address in the spaces below.  If you need additional  space please provide the same information for any additional defendants on separate sheet of paper.    A.  Name _________________________________  is employed as ______________________________________________         Current Address/Place of Employment ___________________________________________________________________        B.  Name _________________________________ is employed as _______________________________________________             Current Address/Place of Employment ___________________________________________________________________        C.  Name _________________________________ is employed as _______________________________________________             Current Address/Place of Employment ___________________________________________________________________        D.  Name ________________________________ is employed as ________________________________________________             Current Address/Place of Employment ___________________________________________________________________        E.  Name ________________________________ is employed as ________________________________________________             Current Address/Place of Employment ___________________________________________________________________    IV. Causes of Action (You may attach additional pages alleging other causes of action and the facts supporting them if necessary.  Must be in same format outlined below.)  Claim 1:  The following civil right has been violated (e.g. right to medical care, access to courts, due process, free speech, freedom of  religion, freedom of association, freedom from cruel and unusual punishment, etc.):    ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  Supporting Facts (Include all facts you consider important to Claim 1. State what happened clearly and in your own words.  You need  not cite legal authority or argument. Be certain to describe exactly what each defendant, by name, did to violate the right alleged in  Claim 1.):   ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  Claim 2:  The following civil right has been violated (e.g. right to medical care, access to courts, due process, free speech, freedom of  religion, freedom of association, freedom from cruel and unusual punishment, etc.):    ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  Supporting Facts (Include all facts you consider important to Claim 2. State what happened clearly and in your own words.  You need  not cite legal authority or argument. Be certain to describe exactly what each defendant, by name, did to violate the right alleged in  Claim 2.):   ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  V. Relief  State briefly exactly what you want the court to do for you.  Make no legal arguments.  Cite no cases or statues.  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________    I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.    Date: ___________________         Signature of Plaintiff: _______________________________________________        (Revised 4/4/14)      INFORMATION TO PRISONERS SEEKING LEAVE TO PROCEED WITH A CIVIL ACTION IN FEDERAL COURT IN FORMA PAUPERIS PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1915 In accordance with 1996 amendments to the in forma pauperis (IFP) statute, AS A PRISONER YOU WILL BE OBLIGATED TO PAY THE FULL FILING FEE OF $400.00 FOR A CIVIL RIGHTS ACTION, $5.00 FOR A HABEAS CORPUS PETITION, OR $505.00 FOR AN APPEAL. If you have the money to pay the filing fee, you should send a cashier’s check or money order to the court with your complaint, petition, or notice of appeal. If you do not have enough money to pay the full filing fee when your action is filed, you can file the action without prepaying the filing fee. The court will order the agency that has custody of you to take the filing fee out of your prison or jail trust account if there are available funds, and to forward the money to the court. Until the amount of the filing fee is paid in full, EACH MONTH YOU WILL OWE 20 PERCENT OF YOUR PRECEDING MONTH’S INCOME TOWARD THE BALANCE. The agency that has custody of you will collect that money and send payments to the court any time the amount in the account exceeds $10.00. The balance of the filing fee will be collected even if the action is later dismissed, summary judgment is granted against you, or you fail to prevail at trial. In order to proceed with an action in forma pauperis you must complete the attached form and return it to the court with your complaint, habeas corpus petition, or appeal. You must attach to the form a certified copy of your prison or jail account statement for the last six months. If you submit an incomplete form or do not submit a prison or jail account statement with the form, your request to proceed in forma pauperis will be denied. Regardless of whether some or all of the filing fee has been paid, the court is required to screen your complaint and to dismiss the complaint if 1. 2. 3. 4. Your allegation of poverty is untrue; The action is frivolous or malicious; Your complaint does not state a claim on which relief can be granted, or You sue a defendant for money damages and that defendant is immune from liability for money damages. If you file more than three actions or appeals while you are a prisoner which are dismissed as frivolous or malicious or for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted, you will be prohibited from bringing any other actions in forma pauperis unless you are in imminent danger of serious physical injury. (Revised 04/2014) Name:___________________________________ CDC No:_________________________________ Address:_________________________________ _________________________________________ UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA FRESNO DIVISION CASE NUMBER: Plaintiff/Petitioner, vs. APPLICATION TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS BY A PRISONER Defendants/Respondent. / I, , declare that I am the plaintiff in the above-entitled proceeding; that, in support of my request to proceed without prepayment of fees under 28 U.S.C. section 1915, I declare that I am unable to pay the fees for these proceedings or give security therefor and that I am entitled to the relief sought in the complaint. In support of this application, I answer the following questions under penalty of perjury: 1. Are you currently incarcerated? Yes No (If “no” DO NOT USE THIS FORM) State the place of your incarceration. 2. Are you currently employed (includes prison employment)? Yes No a. b. 3. If the answer is “yes” state the amount of your pay. If the answer is “no” state the date of your last employment, the amount of your take-home salary or wages and pay period, and the name and address of your last employer. Have you received any money from the following sources over the last twelve months? a. Business, profession, or other self-employment: Yes No b. Rent payments, interest or dividends: Yes No -1- c. Pensions, annuities or life insurance payments: Yes No d. Disability or workers compensation payments: Yes No e.. Gifts or inheritances: Yes No f. Any other sources: Yes No If the answer to any of the above is “yes,” describe by that item each source of money. Also state the amount received and what you expect you will continue to receive (attach an additional sheet if necessary). 4. Do you have cash (includes balance of checking or savings accounts)? Yes No If “yes” state the total amount: 5. Do you own any real estate, stocks, bonds, securities, other financial instruments, automobiles or other valuable property? Yes No If “yes” describe the property and state its value: 6. Do you have any other assets? Yes No If “yes,” list the asset(s) and state the value of each asset listed: 7. List all persons dependent on you for support, stating your relationship to each person listed and how much you contribute to their support. IMPORTANT: This form must be dated and signed below in order for the court to consider your application. I hereby authorize the agency having custody of me to collect from my trust account and forward to the Clerk of the United States District Court payments in accordance with 28 U.S.C. section 1915(b)(2). DATE NOTE: SIGNATURE OF APPLICANT Within sixty days from the date of this application you must forward to the court a certified copy of your prison trust account statement showing transactions for the past six months. (Revised 04/2014) -2-

Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.


Why Is My Information Online?