Benton v. El Dorado County Sheriff's Department et al

Filing 45

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Allison Claire on 05/22/19 DENYING 44 plaintiff's request. (Plummer, M)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 BRUCE BENTON, 12 13 14 15 16 No. 2:15-cv-0772 TLN AC P Plaintiff, v. ORDER EL DORADO COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT, et al., Defendants. 17 18 Plaintiff is an El Dorado County Jail detainee proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis 19 with this civil rights action against sole defendant El Dorado County Deputy Sheriff Clingman. 20 By order filed March 13, 2019, the court found that plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint states 21 a cognizable Eighth Amendment failure-to-protect claim against Clingman. ECF No. 35. 22 Pending is the court’s request to the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department that it provide 23 plaintiff with the information necessary for the United States Marshal to serve process on 24 defendant Clingman. ECF No. 43. Meanwhile, at plaintiff’s request, the court issued an order 25 that informed the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department that plaintiff’s requests to use the jail’s 26 legal library, services and materials are valid and necessary to pursue this case. ECF No. 39. 27 Plaintiff now requests further assistance from this court in obtaining additional library 28 access and legal supplies, and information concerning facts and witnesses pertinent to this case. 1 1 ECF No. 44. Plaintiff’s request will be denied as premature for the following reasons. 2 Once defendant has been served process and appeared in this action, the court will issue a 3 Discovery and Scheduling Order that sets forth the procedures and deadlines for plaintiff to 4 obtain discovery from defendant and pertinent witnesses. Until that time, plaintiff has no grounds 5 for demanding information from the Sheriff’s Department or subpoenaing witnesses. Plaintiff 6 may, however, during this period request that his own witnesses prepare affidavits under penalty 7 of perjury that can later be used to support or oppose a motion for summary judgment and/or at 8 trial. Should this case proceed to trial, plaintiff will then be provided the opportunity to subpoena 9 witnesses and documents. 10 Plaintiff’s requests for additional library access and supplies must be construed within the 11 framework of his First Amendment right to access the courts. Correctional facilities “must 12 provide inmates with access to an adequate law library or, in the alternative, with adequate 13 assistance from persons trained in the law.” Lindquist v. Idaho State Bd. of Corr., 776 F.2d 851, 14 855 (9th Cir. 1985) (citing Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817, 826-28 (1977)). An adequate law 15 library is one that meets minimum constitutional standards by providing “inmates with sufficient 16 access to legal research materials to prepare pro se pleadings, appeals, and other legal 17 documents.” Lindquist, 776 F.2d at 856. In addition, correctional facilities “are required to 18 provide a reasonable supply of paper and envelopes for the indigent inmates so as to permit them 19 access to the courts.” Morgan v. Nevada Bd. of State Prison Comm’rs, 593 F. Supp. 621, 624 (D. 20 Nev. 1984). However, “[a] right of access claim other than one alleging inadequate law libraries 21 or alternative sources of legal knowledge must be based on an actual injury.” Johnson v. Moore, 22 948 F.2d 517, 521 (9th Cir. 1991) (citation omitted). A prisoner asserting such denial of access to 23 the courts must demonstrate a resulting “actual injury” – “that is ‘actual prejudice with respect to 24 contemplated or existing litigation, such as the inability to meet a filing deadline or to present a 25 claim.” Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 348 (1996). Plaintiff’s current allegations do not meet 26 this standard. 27 //// 28 //// 2 1 Accordingly, for the foregoing reasons, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s 2 request filed May 17, 2019, ECF No. 44, is denied without prejudice. 3 DATED: May 22, 2019 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 3

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