Morris v. Shaffer et al

Filing 5

ORDER ADMINISTRATIVELY CLOSING CASE; INSTRUCTIONS TO CLERK. Signed by Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley on 2/29/2016. (ahm, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/29/2016)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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LONNIE MORRIS,

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Plaintiff,

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v.

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ORDER ADMINISTRATIVELY
CLOSING CASE;
INSTRUCTIONS TO CLERK

JENNIFER SHAFFER, et al.,

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Defendants.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

Case No. 16-cv-00423-JSC

(Dkt. No. 2)

This case was opened when Plaintiff, a California prisoner, filed a pro se Petition for a

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Writ of Mandamus with the caption for Coleman, et al., v. Brown, et al., No. 90-cv-0520 KKK

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DAD (PC) (E.D. Cal.), and Plata , et al., v. Brown, et al., No. 01-cv-1351 TEH (N.D. Cal.)

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(hereinafter “Coleman/Plata”), class actions before a three-judge panel.1 Plaintiff alleges that he

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is a member of the class in Coleman/Plata, and that he is eligible for release pursuant to a

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February 10, 2014 Order which created “Elderly Parole release criteria.” (See Dkt. No. 1, Exh. B.)

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The petition seeks to compel the Executive Officer of the California Board of Parole Hearings and

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the Warden of San Quentin State Prison to comply with the February 10, 2014 Order by releasing

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Plaintiff from custody.
Plaintiff may not assert his claims in an individual suit, but rather he must pursue them in

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Coleman/Plata by urging further action through the class representatives and attorneys. See Pride

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v. Correa, 719 F.3d 1130, 1133 (9th Cir. 2013) (holding that individual suits for injunctive and

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equitable relief may be dismissed when they duplicate an existing class action's allegations and

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prayer for relief); see also McNeil v. Guthrie, 945 F.2d 1163, 1165 (10th Cir. 1991) ("Individual

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suits for injunctive and equitable relief from alleged unconstitutional prison conditions cannot be

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Plaintiff has consented to the jurisdiction of a Magistrate Judge. (Dkt. No. 4).

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brought where there is an existing class action" suit involving the same subject matter); Gillespie

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v. Crawford, 858 F.2d 1101, 1103 (5th Cir. 1988) (en banc) ("Individual members of the class and

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other prisoners may assert any equitable or declaratory claims they have, but they must do so by

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urging further actions through the class representative and attorney, including contempt

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proceedings, or by intervention in the class action."). It is clear from the caption to the petition

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that Plaintiff intended to file it in Coleman/Plata, and not as an individual suit. This was the

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correct course of action, although pursuant to an order in Plata, he may not file a pro se petition

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directly in that case but rather only through plaintiffs’ counsel.2 (See Dkt. No. 2348 in Plata, et

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al., v. Brown, et al., No. C 01-1351 TEH (N.D.Cal.)) Accordingly, the Clerk shall
administratively close this case as having been opened in error, and return a copy of the Petition

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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for Writ of Mandamus (Dkt. No. 1) to Plaintiff. No fee is due, and the application to proceed in

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forma pauperis (Dkt. No. 2) is DENIED as moot.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: February 29, 2016

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JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY
United States Magistrate Judge

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Plaintiff may submit his petition to plaintiffs’ counsel in Plata by mailing it to Donald H.
Specter, Prison Law Office, 1917 Fifth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710-1916.
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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LONNIE MORRIS,

Case No. 16-cv-00423-JSC

Plaintiff,
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v.

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

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JENNIFER SHAFFER, et al.,
Defendants.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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I, the undersigned, hereby certify that I am an employee in the Office of the Clerk, U.S.
District Court, Northern District of California.
That on February 29, 2016, I SERVED a true and correct copy(ies) of the attached, by
placing said copy(ies) in a postage paid envelope addressed to the person(s) hereinafter listed, by
depositing said envelope in the U.S. Mail, or by placing said copy(ies) into an inter-office delivery
receptacle located in the Clerk's office.

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Lonnie Morris ID: B-95677
California State Prison - San Quentin
San Quentin, CA 94964

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Dated: February 29, 2016

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Susan Y. Soong
Clerk, United States District Court

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By:________________________
Ada Means, Deputy Clerk to the
Honorable JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY
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