Armstead v. Virga et al

Filing 53

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on 7/18/12 ORDERING that Plaintiffs motions for injunctive relief 49 , 50 , construed as motions for protective orders, are DENIED; Plaintiffs motion for an extension of time 52 is GRANTED; plaintiffs amended complaint and objections to the findings and recommendations are due within 30 days. (Dillon, M)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JAMES ARMSTEAD,

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Plaintiff,

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vs.
TIM V. VIRGA, et al.,

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Defendants.

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No. 2: 11-cv-1054 JAM KJN P

ORDER
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I. Introduction

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Plaintiff is a state prisoner, proceeding without counsel, with a civil rights action

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pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On July 3, 2012, the undersigned granted defendants’ motion to

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dismiss with leave to amend as to some claims, and recommended that defendants’ motion be

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granted and denied as to other claims.

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Pending before the court are plaintiff’s motions for injunctive relief filed June 22,

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2012 (Dkt. Nos. 49, 50) requesting additional law library access. Also pending is plaintiff’s July

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16, 2012 motion for an extension of time to file an amended complaint in response to the July 3,

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2012 order and, possibly, objections to the July 3, 2012 findings and recommendations.

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II. Motions for Injunctive Relief

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Plaintiff’s Allegations

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In his motions for injunctive relief, plaintiff alleges that the educational materials

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such as text books were removed from the law library. Plaintiff also alleges that all hard bound

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reference books, except for Shepards, were removed from the law library and replaced with

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computers that are difficult to work. Plaintiff also alleges that the law library no longer loans out

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statutory or case law related books. Plaintiff also complains that the law library schedule

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changed from five days a week to two days a week during yard time. Plaintiff also complains

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that when he has law library access, he is only permitted to make copies of one legal document

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per visit. Plaintiff alleges that during the month of May, he had law library access “only” four

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times.

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Standards for Protective Orders

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The court construes plaintiff’s motions for injunctive relief as motions for

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protective orders. None of the requests addressed in plaintiff’s motions seek dispositive relief on

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the merits of the complaint. The motions are addressed to procedures that the parties must

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utilize in litigating this case. See United States v. Flaherty, 668 F.2d 566, 586 (1st Cir. 1981)

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(“A pretrial matter within the magistrate’s jurisdiction would thus seem to be a matter

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unconnected to issues litigated at trial and not defined with respect to the time of trial.”) Neither

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do the rulings herein involve injunctive relief. For these reasons, plaintiff’s motions may be

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handled by court order rather than by findings and recommendations.

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Analysis

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Prisoners have a constitutional right to access the courts. Lewis v. Casey, 518

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U.S. 343, 346 (1996). This right, however, “guarantees no particular methodology but rather the

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conferral of a capability – the capability of bringing contemplated challenges to sentences or

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conditions of confinement before the courts ... [It is this capability] rather than the capability of

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turning pages in a law library, that is the touchstone” of the right of access to the courts. Lewis,
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518 U.S. at 356-57. Prison officials may select the best method to ensure that prisoners have the

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capability to file suit. See id. at 356.

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The undersigned first considers plaintiff’s claim that in order to prepare his

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objections and amended complaint, he is now required to use computers which are difficult to

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operate. As set forth above, plaintiff has no constitutional right to a “particular methodology” for

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doing legal research. Plaintiff’s use of computers does not deny him access to the courts.

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Accordingly, plaintiff’s claim that the computers are more difficult for him to use than hard

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bound books is not grounds for granting his motions for protective orders.

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Plaintiff also complains that the computers often malfunction. Plaintiff’s motions

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contain no specific allegations regarding when the computers malfunctioned. Plaintiff’s vague

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and unsupported claim regarding malfunctioning computers is not grounds for granting his

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motions for protective orders.

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Plaintiff complains that all educational materials, such as text books, were

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removed from the law library. Plaintiff does not allege that he requires educational materials to

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prepare his amended complaint or objections. For this reason, plaintiff’s inability to access text

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books is not grounds to grant his motions for protective orders.

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Plaintiff also complains that he is no longer permitted to borrow books from the

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law library. Plaintiff does not explain how his inability to borrow books prevents him from

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preparing his objections and amended complaint. For this reason, the undersigned finds that

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plaintiff’s inability to borrow books is not grounds for granting his motion for protective order.

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Plaintiff also complains that the law library is open only two days per week during

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yard time. Plaintiff argues that he forced to choose between outdoor exercise and law library

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access. Plaintiff does not claim that he is completely denied outdoor exercise based on the law

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library schedule. Instead, he appears to claim that on two days per week he is required to choose

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between law library access and outdoor exercise. Because plaintiff does not describe how much

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outdoor exercise he receives per week, the undersigned finds that he is not entitled to a protective
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order based on the law library schedule conflicting with the yard schedule.

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Plaintiff also complains that he is only permitted to make copies of one legal

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document per visit to the law library. It is unclear how this limit on copies has impacted

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plaintiff’s ability to prepare his complaint and objections. For this reason, plaintiff is not entitled

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to a protective order on these grounds.

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The undersigned observes that plaintiff does not complain that he is being

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completely denied law library access, as plaintiff admits that he received access to the law library

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four times during the month of May.

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Finally, in one of his pending motions, plaintiff alleges that he is being denied law

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library access in retaliation for his challenges to the adequacy of the law library. Other than this

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claim, plaintiff provides no specific facts to support his claim of retaliation. The undersigned

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will not address this claim of retaliation any further because it is vague and unsupported.

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For these reasons discussed above, plaintiff’s motions for protective orders

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seeking increased and improved law library access are denied.

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III. Motion for Extension of Time

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Plaintiff requests an extension of time to prepare his amended complaint and

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objections to the July 3, 2012 findings and recommendations. Good cause appearing, this motion

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is granted.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Plaintiff’s motions for injunctive relief (Dkt. Nos. 49, 50), construed as

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motions for protective orders, are denied;

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2. Plaintiff’s motion for an extension of time (Dkt. No. 52) is granted; plaintiff’s

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amended complaint and objections to the findings and recommendations are due within thirty

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days of the date of this order.

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DATED: July 18, 2012

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_____________________________________
KENDALL J. NEWMAN
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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