Guevara v. Smith, et al.

Filing 4

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Allison Claire on 7/10/2017 ORDERING, within 7 days, plaintiff must notify the court whether he was a prisoner at the time he filed the complaint. (Yin, K)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ABIUD VALENCIA GUEVARA,

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No. 2:17-cv-1820 AC P

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER

ROBERT SMITH, et al.,
Defendants.

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Plaintiff, proceeding through counsel, has filed a civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C.

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§ 1983. ECF No. 1. In the complaint, plaintiff alleges that his rights under the Eighth

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Amendment were violated by prison medical staff. Id. The court is required to screen complaints

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brought by prisoners seeking relief against a governmental entity or officer or employee of a

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governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). “[A] court may screen a complaint pursuant to 28

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U.S.C. § 1915A only if, at the time the plaintiff files the complaint, he is ‘incarcerated or detained

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in any facility [because he] is accused of, convicted of, sentenced for, or adjudicated delinquent

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for, violations of criminal law or the terms and conditions of parole, probation, pretrial release, or

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diversionary program.’” Olivas v. Nev. ex rel. Dep’t of Corr., 856 F.3d 1281, 1284 (9th Cir.

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2017) (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 1915A). Because it is unclear whether plaintiff was a prisoner at the

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time he filed the complaint, the court is unable to determine whether the complaint is subject to

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screening under § 1915A.
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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that within seven days of the filing of this

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order, plaintiff must notify the court whether he was a prisoner at the time he filed the complaint.

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If plaintiff was a prisoner, the court will proceed to screen the complaint in due course. If

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plaintiff was not a prisoner, he must proceed with serving the complaint.

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DATED: July 10, 2017

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