(PC) Sekona v. Francis et al

Filing 164

ORDER APPROVING USE OF ATTORNEY ADMISSIONS FUND FOR PAYMENT OF WITNESS TRAVEL FEES signed by Chief District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on 8/30/2024. The Finance Department shall issue two payments of $12.00 each from the Non-Appropriated Fund to the following individuals so that they may appear as witnesses at trial in Sekona v. Francis, E.D. Cal. Case No. 1:19-cv-00529: Correctional Officer Commagay and Melinda Cook. The presiding judges in this matter will issue subpoenas and updated summonses to the witnesses as appropriate. (cc: Financial Dpt.) (Yin, K)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ETUATE SEKONA,

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Plaintiff,

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v.

No. 1:19-cv-00529-KES-HBK (PC)
ORDER APPROVING USE OF ATTORNEY
ADMISSIONS FUND FOR PAYMENT OF
WITNESS TRAVEL FEES

M. FRANCIS,

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Defendant.

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Plaintiff Etuate Sekona is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis on his

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Eighth Amendment claim against defendant Francis for deliberate indifference to serious medical

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need. See ECF No. 127 at 2. The case is currently scheduled for trial before Judge Kirk E.

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Sherriff on September 10, 2024. Id. at 1. Plaintiff previously paid the required witness and travel

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fees by money order for nonincarcerated witnesses Commagay and Cook in February 2023. See

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Docket Entry of 02/03/2023. Through no fault of plaintiff, the trial in this case was previously

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scheduled and continued multiple times. ECF Nos. 65, 68, 83, 98, 110, 120. The federal mileage

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reimbursement rate applicable to witness travel fees increased on January 1, 2024, and the court

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accordingly assessed an additional fee of $24.00 ($12.00 for each nonincarcerated witnesses) to

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account for those increased costs on June 18, 2024. See ECF No. 128 at 2. To date, plaintiff has

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been unable to pay the additional travel fees.

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As provided by the Court’s Plan for the Administration of the Non-Appropriated Fund,

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§ 1.03(d) (as amended July 1, 2024; see General Order 682) (the “Fund”), and the Guide to

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Judiciary Policy (“Guide”), local attorney admissions funds may be used for “payment of witness

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fees and other expenses for indigent pro se civil litigants” if doing so inures to the benefit of the

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bench and bar in the administration of justice. See Guide, Vol. 4, Ch. 6, § 670.20(b)(6); see also

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General Order 682, Section 1.03(d) (“Expenditures from the Fund are to be used for the benefit of

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the bench and bar in the administration of justice. After considering the recommendations of the

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[Judicial Advisory Committee] or other judges, the Chief District Judge must enter an order

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authorizing all expenditures, except as provided in Section 2.02 ‘Pro Bono Expenses.’”).

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Under this authority, an appropriation of twenty-four dollars ($24.00) from the Fund

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would inure to the benefit of the bench and bar by permitting a long-delayed trial to proceed with

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the participation of plaintiff’s witnesses.

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Accordingly, the undersigned authorizes the Finance Department to issue two payments of

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$12.00 each from the Non-Appropriated Fund to the following individuals so that they may

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appear as witnesses at trial in Sekona v. Francis, E.D. Cal. Case No. 1:19-cv-00529:

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Correctional Officer Commagay, Kern Valley State Prison, P.O. Box 3130, Delano, CA

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93216-6000

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Melinda Cook, Kern Valley State Prison, P.O. Box 3130, Delano, CA 93216-6000

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The presiding judges in this matter will issue subpoenas and updated summonses to the witnesses

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as appropriate.

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IS SO ORDERED.

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DATED: August 30, 2024.

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