Harris v. Davis et al

Filing 5

ORDER DISMISSING CASE. Signed by Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James on 9/7/2017. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate/Proof of Service)(rmm2S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/7/2017)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MAURICE L. HARRIS,
Plaintiff,

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RON DAVIS, et al.,
Defendants.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

ORDER OF DISMISSAL

v.

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Case No. 17-cv-03269-MEJ (PR)

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Plaintiff Maurice L. Harris, a state prisoner incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison

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(“SQSP”), has filed a pro se civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. His complaint is

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now before the Court for review under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. Plaintiff’s application for leave to

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proceed in forma pauperis will be addressed in a separate order.
DISCUSSION

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A.

Standard of Review

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A federal court must engage in a preliminary screening of any case in which a prisoner

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seeks redress from a governmental entity, or from an officer or an employee of a governmental

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entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). In its review, the Court must identify any cognizable claims, and

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dismiss any claims which are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim upon which relief may be

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granted, or seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. See 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1915A(b) (1), (2). Pro se pleadings must be liberally construed. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police

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Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1990).

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

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claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). “Specific facts are not

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necessary; the statement need only ‘give the defendant fair notice of what the . . . . claim is and the

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grounds upon which it rests.’” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93 (2007) (citations omitted).

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“[A] plaintiff’s obligation to provide the ‘grounds’ of his ‘entitle[ment] to relief’ requires more

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than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not

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do. . . . Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.”

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Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (citations omitted). A complaint must

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proffer “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. at 570.
To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege two elements: (1) that a

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right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States was violated; and (2) that the

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violation was committed by a person acting under the color of state law. West v. Atkins, 487 U.S.
42, 48 (1988).

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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B.

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Legal Claims
Plaintiff asserts that he is a practitioner of the Buddhist faith and is a member of the Soka

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Gakkai International (“SGI”)—a Buddhist network. According to plaintiff, “studying Buddhist

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texts electronically” is part of his practice. Compl. at 3. Plaintiff filed a prison administrative

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appeal requesting a religious accommodation for a CDCR-approved electronic reading device

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(“eReader”) to use for study of religious books. The appeal was denied. Plaintiff claims that the

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denial violates his rights under the Equal Protection Clause because other inmates are permitted to

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have eReaders. Specifically, inmates who participate in the Voluntary Education Program

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(“VEP”) may possess an eReader for college study, and certain other groups of inmates are

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permitted to purchase eReaders based on their security level.

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Plaintiff’s allegations fail to establish an equal protection violation. The Equal Protection

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Clause requires that an inmate who is an adherent of a minority religion be afforded a “reasonable

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opportunity of pursuing his faith comparable to the opportunity afforded fellow prisoners who

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adhere to conventional religious precepts.” Cruz v. Beto, 405 U.S. 319, 322 (1972) (Buddhist

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prisoners must be given opportunity to pursue faith comparable to that given Christian prisoners).

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The court must consider whether “the difference between the defendants’ treatment of [the inmate]

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and their treatment of [other] inmates is ‘reasonably related to legitimate penological interests.’”

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Shakur v. Schriro, 514 F.3d 878, 891 (9th Cir. 2008). Plaintiff fails to show that inmates of other

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faiths were allowed to purchase eReaders in order to specifically pursue spiritual practice. Indeed,

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he acknowledges that prison officials, in denying his request, were acting under CDCR operational

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procedures unrelated to religion. Plaintiff even admits that he was personally allowed to possess

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an eReader when he was a participant in the VEP. Plaintiff’s allegations likewise fail to support a

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claim that the denial of an eReader deprived him of a reasonable opportunity to practice his

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religion. See Cruz, 405 U.S. at 322.
Plaintiff also alleges that defendants violated his due process rights by “not referring

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Plaintiff’s religious request to the Religious Review Committee, and not following the established

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property policies.” Compl. at 5. These allegations do not state a cognizable claim for relief, even

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when liberally construed, because there is no constitutional right to a religious review committee,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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nor is there any other federal law implicated by the alleged failures to follow prison procedures.

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Accordingly, the complaint will be dismissed. Such dismissal will be without leave to

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amend, as any amendment to state a constitutional claim under the circumstances alleged herein

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would be futile. See Janicki Logging Co. v. Mateer, 42 F.3d 561, 566 (9th Cir. 1994) (holding

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leave to amend need not be granted where amendment constitutes exercise in futility).

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CONCLUSION

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For the reasons stated above, the complaint is hereby DISMISSED without leave to amend.

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The Clerk shall enter judgment and close the file.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: September 7, 2017

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MARIA-ELENA JAMES
United States Magistrate Judge