Harris v. Director of C.D.C.R. et al

Filing 5

ORDER OF DISMISSAL. Signed by Judge Jon S. Tigar on April 9, 2018. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate/Proof of Service) (wsn, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 4/9/2018)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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EARNEST S. HARRIS,

Case No. 18-cv-01114-JST

Plaintiff,

ORDER OF DISMISSAL

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v.

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DIRECTOR OF C.D.C.R., et al.,
Defendants.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Plaintiff, a California inmate incarcerated at California State Prison ‒ Corcoran, has filed a

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pro se civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. ECF No. 1. Plaintiff has been granted

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leave to proceed in forma pauperis in a separate order. His complaint is now before the Court for

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review under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.
DISCUSSION

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A.

Standard of Review
A federal court must conduct a preliminary screening in any case in which a prisoner seeks

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redress from a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. See 28

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

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claims that are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted or seek

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monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1),

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(2). Pro se pleadings must, however, be liberally construed. See Balistreri v. Pacifica Police

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Dep’t., 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1988).

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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.” “Specific facts are not necessary; the

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statement need only “‘give the defendant fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon

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

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order to state a claim a complaint “does not need detailed factual allegations, . . . a plaintiff’s

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obligation to provide the grounds of his ‘entitle[ment] to relief’ requires more than labels and

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conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do. . . .

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

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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 for 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 essential elements:

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

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the alleged violation was committed by a person acting under the color of state law. See West v.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988).

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B.

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Legal Claims
Plaintiff makes three claims. First, he alleges that his civil rights have been violated by the

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failure of Pelican Bay State Prison (“PBSP”), where he was formerly housed, and the California

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Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”), to hire African American employees in

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any capacity. He states that the reason for some of his numerous altercations with PBSP

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correctional officers was because the correctional officers were not African American and were

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therefore racially biased against him and could not relate to his customs or his culture. Second, he

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argues that female inmates face housing discrimination based on their gender because female

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inmates are not allowed to be housed in the same maximum security correctional facilities as men.

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Third, he argues that CDCR and PBSP has denied him his constitutional right to vote by failing to

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provide inmates with registers, mail-in ballots, or voting booths. ECF No. 1 at 3‒6.

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Plaintiff’s allegations fail to state cognizable claims for relief. His first two allegations

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arise out of injuries suffered by third parties — African Americans who are not hired for positions

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in correctional facilities and female inmates. Plaintiff does not have standing to seek relief for

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injuries suffered by a third party. Allee v. Medrano, 416 U.S. 802, 828‒29 (1974). Standing is the

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“irreducible constitutional minimum” for bringing a judicial action, and requires an injury in fact,

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causation, and redressability. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560 (1992). “[A]
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plaintiff cannot acquire standing to sue by bringing his action on behalf of others who suffered

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injury which would have afforded them standing had they been named plaintiffs . . . a person

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cannot predicate standing on injury which he does not share.” Allee, 416 U.S. at 828‒29.

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Plaintiff may not proceed with claims brought on behalf of others. Rather, he must allege facts

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which establish that he personally has suffered constitutional harm.
To the extent that Plaintiff claims that he has been injured by the failure to hire African

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American correctional officials, this fails to state a cognizable constitutional claim or a cognizable

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federal-law claim. In essence, Plaintiff is arguing that his altercations with PBSP correctional

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officers were inevitable because these officers harbored racial bias against him, and were
incapable of understanding his customs and culture. While Eighth Amendment requires that

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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prison officials take reasonable measures to guarantee the safety of prisoners, Farmer v. Brennan,

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511 U.S. 825, 832 (1994), there is no corresponding requirement to ensure that an inmate does not

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engage in altercations with prison officials. Nor is there a constitutional guarantee that

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correctional officials understand an inmate’s customs or culture, or that inmates be guarded or

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supervised by correctional officials of the same race.

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Plaintiff’s third allegation is without merit. The California Constitution disqualifies

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individuals who are imprisoned or on parole of the conviction of a felony from voting. Cal.

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Const., art. II, § 4; Cal. Elec. Code § 2150(a)(9). Nothing Defendants have done or not done has

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had any effect on Plaintiff’s ability to vote.

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The Court therefore dismisses these claims with prejudice because amendment would be

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futile. Carrico v. City and Cnty. of San Francisco, 656 F.3d 1002, 1008 (9th Cir. 2011) (leave to

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amend properly denied if amendment would be futile).

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CONCLUSION

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For the foregoing reasons, this action is 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: April 9, 2018
______________________________________
JON S. TIGAR
United States District Judge

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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