Oliver v. Grounds et al

Filing 19

ORDER by Judge ARMSTRONG denying 18 Motion for adequate legal writing supplies (lrc, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/12/2012)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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No. C 12-00176 SBA (PR)

MAURICE P. OLIVIER,

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S
MOTION FOR "ADEQUATE LEGAL
WRITING SUPPLIES"

Plaintiff,
v.
R. GROUNDS, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Plaintiff, a state prisoner, filed this civil action, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, on January 11,

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2012.
Before the Court is Plaintiff's request, filed July 25, 2012, for an Order directing prison

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officials to provide him with "adequate legal writing supplies." (Pl.'s Memo. in Supp. of Mot. at 1.)

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Specifically, Plaintiff requests that the Court order Warden Randy Grounds to provide him with "a

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full-length pencil, eraser(s), ink pen(s) and [a] pencil sharpener." (Id.) Including the memorandum

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in support of his motion and the multiple exhibits attached to his pleading, Plaintiff's entire filing is

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eighty-two pages long.

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In Bounds v. Smith, the Supreme Court held "that the fundamental constitutional right of

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access to the courts requires prison authorities to assist inmates in the preparation and filing of

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meaningful legal papers by providing prisoners with adequate law libraries or adequate assistance

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from persons trained in the law." Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817, 828 (1977). Subsequently, the

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Supreme Court clarified that Bounds did not establish a substantive right to law library access, but

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rather signaled that in order for prisoners' right of access to the courts to be meaningful, they must be

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given adequate resources to prepare. See Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 350-51 (1996).

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In the instant case, Plaintiff has not claimed any actual harm caused by his alleged lack of

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access to any of the items he listed above. To the contrary, given the volume and length of the

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pleadings he has managed to file, it is readily apparent that Plaintiff has had little, if any, difficulty

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in preparing his pleadings. Furthermore, the Defendants in this case have not been served; therefore,

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no briefing schedule has been issued, and thus Plaintiff currently does not need to meet any

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deadlines. Accordingly, Plaintiff's request for an Order directing prison officials to provide him

United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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with the items listed above (docket no. 18) is DENIED at this time.

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This Order terminates Docket no. 18.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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DATED: 9/12/12
SAUNDRA BROWN ARMSTRONG
United States District Judge

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G:\PRO-SE\SBA\CR.12\Olivier0176.denyLEGALSUPPLYwithoutprej.wpd

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MAURICE P. OLIVER,
Case Number: CV12-00176 SBA

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Plaintiff,
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
v.
R. GROUNDS et al,
Defendant.

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United States District Court
For the 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 September 12, 2012, 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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Maurice P. Oliver F83603
California Training Facility
Soledad State Prison
North Facility
P.O. Box 705
Soledad, CA 93950-0705

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Dated: September 12, 2012

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Richard W. Wieking, Clerk
By: Lisa Clark, Deputy Clerk

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