Davis v. Zamora et al

Filing 13

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on 3/17/16 ORDERING that this civil rights action is dismissed without prejudice as barred by the holdings of Heck v. Humphrey. CASE CLOSED.(Dillon, M)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SHELDON DAVIS,

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No. 2:15-cv-0010 KJN P

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER

J.A. ZAMORA, et al.,

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Defendants.

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I. Introduction
Plaintiff is a state prisoner, proceeding without counsel and in forma pauperis. Plaintiff

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seeks relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This proceeding was referred to this court by Local

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Rule 302 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). Plaintiff consented to proceed before the

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undersigned for all purposes. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). On May 19, 2015, plaintiff was ordered to

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submit a complete first amended complaint that included his charging allegations. Plaintiff has

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now filed a second amended complaint.

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II. Screening Requirement

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The court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a

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governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The

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court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims that are legally

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“frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek

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monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1),(2).

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A claim is legally frivolous when it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact.

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Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989); Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1227-28 (9th

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Cir. 1984). The court may, therefore, dismiss a claim as frivolous when it is based on an

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indisputably meritless legal theory or where the factual contentions are clearly baseless. Neitzke,

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490 U.S. at 327. The critical inquiry is whether a constitutional claim, however inartfully

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pleaded, has an arguable legal and factual basis. See Jackson v. Arizona, 885 F.2d 639, 640 (9th

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Cir. 1989), superseded by statute as stated in Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1130-31 (9th Cir.

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2000) (“[A] judge may dismiss [in forma pauperis] claims which are based on indisputably

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meritless legal theories or whose factual contentions are clearly baseless.”); Franklin, 745 F.2d at

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1227.

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Rule 8(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure “requires only ‘a short and plain

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statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,’ in order to ‘give the

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defendant fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.’” Bell Atlantic

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Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47 (1957)).

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In order to survive dismissal for failure to state a claim, a complaint must contain more than “a

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formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action;” it must contain factual allegations

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sufficient “to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Id. at 555. However, “[s]pecific

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facts are not necessary; the statement [of facts] need only ‘give the defendant fair notice of what

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the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.’” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93

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(2007) (quoting Bell Atlantic, 550 U.S. at 555, citations and internal quotations marks omitted).

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In reviewing a complaint under this standard, the court must accept as true the allegations of the

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complaint in question, Erickson, 551 U.S. at 93, and construe the pleading in the light most

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favorable to the plaintiff. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236 (1974), overruled on other

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grounds, Davis v. Scherer, 468 U.S. 183 (1984).

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III. Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint

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In his pleading, plaintiff alleges as follows: Defendants caused or allowed plaintiff to be
assaulted due to their gross negligence, and then sought to cover up their actions and their liability
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by issuing a false disciplinary report (“RVR”), that they knew to be false, in an effort to shift

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blame to plaintiff, who was the actual victim. Specifically, defendant Yang disregarded a prison

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memo providing that no volunteer inmates were allowed in the kitchen. Yang allegedly permitted

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inmate Clark, who suffers from a mental illness, to volunteer in the kitchen, and Clark allegedly

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attacked plaintiff in the kitchen. Defendants Yang and Stratton allegedly tried to cover up their

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violation of the prison policy by issuing plaintiff a rules violation report (“RVR”) for fighting,

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despite inmate Clark telling defendants Yang and Stratton that Clark attacked plaintiff

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unprovoked. Stratton signed the RVR and omitted the information about Clark. Defendant

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Schultz allegedly covered this up by holding an expedited RVR hearing on November 13, 2013,

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just five days after the RVR issued, and by denying plaintiff the right to call witnesses at the RVR

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hearing, falsifying the written report stating that plaintiff did not call any witnesses, and

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fabricating plaintiff’s statements at the hearing. Further, defendants Zamora and Briggs allegedly

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attempted to stop the appeals process at the final level, seeking to help defendants Yang, Stratton,

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and Schultz cover up the non-volunteer directive. Plaintiff contends that all defendants engaged

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in a conspiracy to cover up the false RVR and the false finding of guilt thereon.

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IV. Analysis

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A civil rights action is the proper mechanism for a prisoner seeking to challenge the

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conditions of his confinement. Badea v. Cox, 931 F.2d 573, 574 (9th Cir. 1991). By contrast,

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habeas corpus proceedings are the proper mechanism for a prisoner seeking to challenge the fact

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or duration of his confinement. Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 484 (1973). Here, plaintiff

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contends he sustained a prison disciplinary conviction based upon charges that were false, and

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that he was subject to an allegedly fraudulent disciplinary process. Thus, plaintiff’s success in

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this action would necessarily call into question the validity of his prison disciplinary proceeding

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and implicate the duration of his confinement. Accordingly, a writ of habeas corpus is plaintiff’s

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sole remedy in federal court which may be pursued only after exhausting all of his constitutional

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claims by first presenting them to the state’s highest court. See, e.g., Wilkinson v. Dotson, 544

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U.S. 74, 81-82, 125 S. Ct. 1242 (2005) (“a state prisoner’s § 1983 action is barred (absent prior

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invalidation) -- no matter the relief sought (damages or equitable relief), no matter the target of
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the prisoner’s suit (state conduct leading to conviction or internal prison proceedings) -- if success

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in that action would necessarily demonstrate the invalidity of confinement or its duration.”)

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(emphasis in original); Edwards v. Balisok, 520 U.S. 641, 648 (1997) (dismissing a § 1983 action

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seeking declaratory relief and money damages because a successful challenge to the procedures

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used in a prison disciplinary hearing would necessarily imply the invalidity of the punishment

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imposed); Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 486-87 (1994) (holding that a state prisoner may not

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recover damages under § 1983 for allegedly unconstitutional imprisonment, or for any other harm

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caused by “actions whose unlawfulness would render the imprisonment invalid,” unless he can

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prove that the conviction or other basis for confinement has been reversed on direct appeal,

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expunged by executive order, declared invalid by a state tribunal authorized to make such a

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determination, or called into question by a federal court’s issuance of a writ of habeas corpus).

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Plaintiff was previously informed of this requirement (ECF No. 5 at 4), but he alleges no facts

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demonstrating that the prison disciplinary conviction has been invalidated through a petition for

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writ of habeas corpus.

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For these reasons, plaintiff’s civil rights action must be dismissed without prejudice so

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that plaintiff may first seek habeas relief with respect to the prison disciplinary conviction at

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issue. See Butterfield v. Bail, 120 F.3d 1023 (9th Cir. 1997) (complaint barred where prisoner

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sought damages based on allegations that prison officials relied on false information to find him

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ineligible for parole); Hernandez v. Lozano, 2014 WL 1096937 (E.D. Cal. March 19, 2014)

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(§ 1983 claim that prison officials participated in a cover-up of a fraudulent rules violation charge

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barred because success would necessarily call into question the validity of prison disciplinary

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proceeding).

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V. Conclusion

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In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this civil rights action is

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dismissed without prejudice as barred by the holdings of Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477

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(1994), and Edwards v. Balisok, 520 U.S. 641 (1997).

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Dated: March 17, 2016

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davi0010.56

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