Gibson v. Zavaras et al

Filing 194

ORDER denying 188 Plaintiff's Notice to Court & Motion to Access Typewriter in Cell, by Magistrate Judge Kristen L. Mix on 12/22/11.(lsw, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No. 09-cv-02328-WYD-KLM
WELLMAN GIBSON,
Plaintiff,
v.
SGT. VERENA PACHECO,
Defendant.
_____________________________________________________________________
ORDER
_____________________________________________________________________
ENTERED BY MAGISTRATE JUDGE KRISTEN L. MIX
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff’s Notice to Court & Motion to Access
Typewriter in Cell [Docket No. 188; Filed November 17, 2011] (the “Motion”). In the
Motion, Plaintiff requests greater access to the law library and a typewriter in his cell. He
claims that without these requests being granted, he is being denied the ability to file a
motion for summary judgment and complete other filings in connection with his lawsuit.
Defendant filed records enumerating Plaintiff’s requests and actual access to the law
library. See Access to Law Library [#190-1] at 1-2. In August 2011, he made seven
requests for access to the law library; he was granted access all but one of those times,
when the facility was under lockdown. See id. In September 2011, he made five requests,
and he was granted access all but one of those times, when he was in the process of being
transferred to another facility, although he also failed to show at one of the times for which
he was granted access. See id. at 1. In October 2011, he made two requests, was
granted both, but only showed once. See id. In November 2011, he made four requests
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and was granted three; he was denied the fourth time because of a scheduling issue at the
facility. See id. In White v. Gregory, a prisoner plaintiff claimed that his constitutional rights
were violated because he was only permitted two hours per week in the jail law library. See
87 F.3d 429, 430 (10th Cir. 1996). The Tenth Circuit noted that prisoners are not entitled
to unlimited access to the law library and accordingly ruled that the plaintiff’s constitutional
rights were not violated. See id. Applying White to the access records provided by
Defendant, the Court finds that Plaintiff has had regular access to the law library and thus
is not entitled to a Court Order requiring the prison facility to provide him with greater
access to the law library.
Plaintiff also requests a typewriter in his cell to “help speed things up.” See Motion
[#188] at 3. “Access to the courts does not include a federally protected right to use a
typewriter or to have one’s pleadings typed, the reason being that pro se prisoners[‘]
causes are not prejudiced by the filing of handwritten briefs.” Twyman v. Crisp, 584 F.2d
352, 358 (10th Cir. 1978) (internal citations omitted). The docket in this case is replete with
filings by Plaintiff in this matter. Applying Twyman to Plaintiff’s request for a typewriter, the
Court finds that Plaintiff is not entitled to a Court Order requiring the prison facility to
provide him with a typewriter in his cell. Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Motion is DENIED for the reasons set forth
above.
Dated: December 22, 2011

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