Mills v. California Medical Facility

Filing 3

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 2/21/2017 ORDERING the Clerk to send petitioner the court's forms for application for a writ of habeas corpus, prisoner civil rights complaint, and application for leave to proceed in forma pauperis; within 30 days, petitioner shall either pay the appropriate filing fee or submit a complete ifp application; within 30 days, petitioner shall file a signed petition for writ of habeas corpus or a prisoner civil rights complaint. Failure to comply with this order may result in this case being closed.(Yin, K)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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KENNETH MILLS,

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No. 2:17-cv-0306-EFB P

Petitioner,
v.

ORDER

CALIFORNIA MEDICAL FACILITY,
Respondent.

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Petitioner is a state prisoner without counsel. This action was opened when he filed a

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form petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. ECF No. 1. The petition is

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not signed and does not challenge the fact or duration of petitioner’s confinement. Rather, it

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challenges the conditions of his confinement. As explained below, petitioner has not properly

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commenced a civil action.

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To commence a civil action, a party is required to file a complaint or a petition. Fed. R.

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Civ. P. 3; Rule 3, Rules Governing § 2254 Cases; Woodford v. Garceau, 538 U.S. 202, 203

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(2003). Federal courts offer two main avenues to relief on complaints related to one’s

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imprisonment – a petition for habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, and a civil rights

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complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Challenges to the validity of one’s confinement or the

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duration of one’s confinement are properly brought in a habeas action, whereas requests for relief

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turning on the circumstances of one’s confinement are properly brought in a § 1983 action.

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Muhammad v. Close, 540 U.S. 749, 750 (2004) (citing Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 500

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(1973)); see also 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a) (“[A] district court shall entertain an application for a writ

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of habeas corpus in behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court only

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on the ground that he is in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United

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States.”); Advisory Committee Notes to Rule 1 of the Rules Governing § 2254 Cases.

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Moreover, Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires that “[e]very pleading,

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written motion, and other paper . . . be signed by at least one attorney of record in the attorney’s

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name—or by a party personally if the party is unrepresented.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a).

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If petitioner wishes to challenge a judgment of conviction entered against him in state

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court, he must file an application for a writ of habeas corpus using this court’s form petition. In

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addition, he must either file an in forma pauperis affidavit or pay the required filing fee ($5.00).

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See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914(a); 1915(a).

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If petitioner wishes to challenge his conditions of confinement, he must file a prisoner

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civil rights complaint using this court’s form complaint. In addition, a plaintiff must pay the $400

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filing fee required by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) or request leave to proceed in forma pauperis and

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submit the affidavit and trust account statement required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). Section

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1915(a)(2) requires “a prisoner seeking to bring a civil action without prepayment of fees or

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security therefor, in addition to filing the affidavit filed under paragraph (1), shall submit a

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certified copy of the trust fund account statement (or institutional equivalent) for the prisoner for

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the 6-month period immediately preceding the filing of the complaint . . . , obtained from the

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appropriate official of each prison at which the prisoner is or was confined.”

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Until petitioner submits a signed petition or complaint and either pays the filing fee or
meets the requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), there is simply no case before the court.

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Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that:

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1. The Clerk of the Court shall send to petitioner the court’s forms for application for

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writ of habeas corpus, prisoner civil rights complaint, and application for leave to

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proceed in forma pauperis.

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2. Within 30 days of the date of this order, petitioner shall either pay the appropriate filing
fee or submit a complete application for leave to proceed in forma pauperis.
3. Within 30 days of the date of this order, petitioner shall file a signed petition for writ of
habeas corpus or prisoner civil rights complaint.
4. Failure to comply with this order may result in this case being closed.
DATED: February 21, 2017.

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