Shields v. Cannon et al

Filing 22

ORDER denying 18 Motion for Court order request to use law library signed by Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows on 05/07/12. (Plummer, 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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PAUL A. SHIELDS,

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Plaintiff,

No. CIV S-11-3185 GGH P

vs.
KELLY L. CANNON, et al.,

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Defendants.

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/

ORDER

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Plaintiff is a state prisoner currently housed at Deuel Vocational Institution who

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proceeds pro se on his complaint for relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Defendants have moved to

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dismiss the complaint (Doc. No. 13), and on April 17, 2012, plaintiff filed the following four

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pleadings:

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(1) An opposition to the motion to dismiss (Doc. No. 20);

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(2) A Notice of Change of Address to Deuel Vocational Institution (Doc. No. 17);

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(3) A Letter requesting that the Clerk make copies and serve parties, as plaintiff is

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unable to have any more copies made (Doc. No. 19); and

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(4) A “Court Order Request to Use Law Library.” (Doc. No. 18).

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Plaintiff’s motion for an order requesting use of the law library reads, in its

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entirety:
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Plaintiff, Paul A. Shields requests a court order to use the law library here
at Deuel Vocational Institution. I been trying to research legal material to
respond to the defendant’s motion to dismiss my complaint. I am being
denied the use of the law library for an unknown reason. I am also forced
to go through extreme measures to even get copies. (see attached
documents and letters.

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Doc. No. 19 at 1.

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There are no attachments to the request.

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“Protective Orders”

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The court construes plaintiff’s motion for injunctive relief as a motion for a

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protective order. Clearly, plaintiff’s motion does not seek dispositive relief on the merits of the

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complaint. The motion is instead addressed to procedures that the parties must utilize in

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litigating this case. See United States v. Flaherty, 668 F.2d 566, 586 (1st Cir. 1981): “A pretrial

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matter within the magistrate’s jurisdiction would thus seem to be a matter unconnected to issues

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litigated at trial and not defined with respect to the time of trial.” Neither does the ruling herein

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involve injunctive relief.

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As in nearly all rulings of magistrate judges pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A),

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parties are told to do something or not do something. For example, in typical discovery motions,

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parties are compelled to answer interrogatories, answer a question or produce a document despite

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a claim of privilege, attend a deposition at a certain tine or place, be compelled to undergo a

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medical examination, pay costs associated with discovery in a cost-shifting sense. No one

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would think of asserting that such non-dispositive orders are invalid because they command or

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disallow a certain activity. Therefore, the fact that parties are directed in their activities by a

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magistrate judge cannot, without more, transform the matter at hand into an “injunctive” relief

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situation governed by § 636(b)(1)(B). See e.g., Grimes v. City and County of San Francisco, 951

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F.2d 236 (9th Cir. 1991) (magistrate judge may compel a party to pay prospective sanctions of

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$500.00 per day during period for non-compliance with discovery orders); Rockwell Int. Inc. v.

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Pos-A-Traction Indus., 712 F.2d 1324, 1325 (9th Cir. 1983) (magistrate judge had jurisdiction to

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order witnesses to answer questions); United States v. Bogard, 846 F.,2d 563, 567 (9th Cir. 1988)
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superseded by rule on unrelated matter, Simpson v. Lear Astronics Corp., 77 F.3d 1170, 1174

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(9th Cir. 1996) (magistrate judge may deny requests to see jury selection materials); New York v.

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United States Metals Roofing Co., 771 F.2d 796 (3rd Cir. 1985) (magistrate judge may prevent a

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party from releasing discovery information to the public; specifically held not to be an injunction

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beyond the authority of a magistrate judge); Affelt v. Carr, 628 F. Supp. 1097, 1101 (N.D. Oh.

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1985) (issuance of gag orders and disqualification of counsel are duties permitted to a magistrate

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judge.). It is only where the relief sought goes to the merits of plaintiff’s actions or to complete

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stays of an action are orders under § 636(b)(1)((A) precluded. See e.g. Reynaga v. Camisa, 971

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F.2d 414 (9th Cir. 1992); compare United States Metals etc., 771 F.2d at 801 (orders which

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restrain or direct the conduct of the parties are not to be characterized as an appealable injunction

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beyond the authority of the magistrate judge unless the restraint goes to the merits of the action).

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In other words, a motion for injunctive relief must relate to the allegations in the complaint. If

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there is no relation, it is not an injunctive relief situation. A party seeking preliminary injunctive

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relief “must necessarily establish a relationship between the injury claimed in the party’s motion

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and the conduct asserted in the complaint.” Devose v. Herrington, 42 F.3d 470, 471 (8th

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Cir.1994). In other words, plaintiff must seek injunctive relief related to the merits of his

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underlying claim.

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Moreover, the rule that governs interlocutory injunctions, Fed. R. Civ. P. 65, also

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indicates that the matters at issue have to be encompassed by the complaint, e.g., provision which

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allows the hearing on preliminary injunction to be accelerated into a trial on the merits,

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preserving the right to jury trial if otherwise appropriate, making evidence received at the hearing

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on preliminary injunction admissible at trial. None of the provisions would make sense if

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disputes outside the complaint, and on which no trial by definition will be had, could be

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considered as proceedings for injunctions. In addition, the standards for granting injunctions are

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much different than the standards applicable to protective orders. Applying established standards

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on the need to grant an injunction only in extraordinary circumstances, absence of legal remedy,
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balance of hardships, irreparable harm, and so forth are foreign to resolution of discovery and

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other procedural disputes which crop up in the course of a litigation.

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For the reasons discussed above, this matter may be handled by court order.

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Analysis

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Plaintiff asks this court to issue an order allowing him to use the law library. He

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argues that he has been trying to conduct research in connection with preparing his opposition to

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the motion to dismiss, but that he is being denied use for an unknown reason and that he is

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having difficulty getting copies.

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Prisoners have a constitutional right of access to the courts. See, e.g., Lewis v.

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Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 346, 116 S. Ct. 2174 (1996). This right, however, “guarantees no particular

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methodology but rather the conferral of a capability – the capability of bringing contemplated

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challenges to sentences or conditions of confinement before the courts....[It is this capability]

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rather than the capability of turning pages in a law library, that is the touchstone” of the right of

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access to the courts. Lewis, 518 U.S. at 356-57.

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In order to establish a violation of a right of access to the courts, a prisoner must

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establish that he or she has suffered an actual injury. Lewis, 518 U.S. at 349. An “actual injury”

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is “actual prejudice with respect to contemplated or existing litigation, such as the inability to

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meet a filing deadline or to present a claim.” Lewis, 518 U.S. at 348.

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In this case, plaintiff’s sparse allegations provide the court with little information

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about the denial of access, or any injury that plaintiff may have suffered. The one injury plaintiff

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seems to allege – that he has experienced difficulty in preparing an opposition to the motion to

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dismiss – is not an actual injury, as plaintiff filed the opposition on April 17, 2012.1 There is

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nothing in the motion to indicate that plaintiff was unable to meet a deadline or to present a

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claim, or suffered any other actual prejudice.

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The opposition includes a four page memorandum of points and authorities, which
includes citations to federal law and to the California Penal Code.
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Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that plaintiff’s “Court Order Request to Use Law

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Library” (Doc. No. 18) is denied.

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DATED: May 7, 2012

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/s/ Gregory G. Hollows
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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ggh:rb

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shie3185.protord

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