Hamilton v. Muldoon et al

Filing 28

ORDER denying 27 request by Judge Lewis T. Babcock on 4/1/16. (dkals, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No. 15-cv-01792-LTB
JAN B. HAMILTON,
Applicant,
v.
DON BIRD, Pitkin County Jail,
D. MULDOON, Capt., Fairplay, CO, and
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF COLORADO,
Respondents.
______________________________________________________________________
ORDER
_____________________________________________________________________
The matter before the Court is a Letter filed by Plaintiff requesting copies of all
orders entered by the undersigned in this case. (ECF No. 27).
Ms. Hamilton paid the $5.00 filing fee in this action. However, even if she had
been granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis, that status does not automatically
entitle her to free copies of documents filed in a court action. See Guinn v. Heckler,
No. 94-1257, 1994 WL 702684 (10th Cir. Dec. 15, 1994) (unpublished) (28 U.S.C.
§ 1915 does not include right to free copy of any document in record; court may
constitutionally require indigent plaintiff to demonstrate need for free copy). See also In
re Richard, 914 F.2d 1526, 1527 (6th Cir.1990) (28 U.S.C. § 1915 “does not give the
[prisoner] litigant a right to have documents copied and returned to him at government
expense”); Collins v. Goord, 438 F.Supp.2d 399, 416 (S.D.N.Y.2006) (“inmate[s] ha[ve]
no constitutional right to free [photo]copies”); Williams v. Minnesota Dep’t of
Corrections, No. CIVA.02–4200(JRT/RLE), 2003 WL 21744244 (D. Minn. July 22, 2003)
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(same, citing Guinn); Rayes v. Houson, No. No. 4:14CV3177, 2014 WL 6980254, at *4
(D. Neb. Dec. 9. 2014) (same, citing Guinn).
This action was dismissed with prejudice on December 9, 2015. (ECF Nos. 21,
22). Ms. Hamilton has filed an appeal, which is pending before the Court of Appeals for
the Tenth Circuit. (ECF No. 23). Ms. Hamilton does not explain why she needs copies
of the orders to pursue her appeal. Therefore, even if Applicant is indigent, she has
failed to demonstrate a need to obtain the documents at the government’s expense.
Accordingly, it is
ORDERED that Ms. Hamilton’s request to receive free copies of the Orders
entered by the undersigned (ECF No. 27) is DENIED. It is
FURTHER ORDERED that Ms. Hamilton may obtain copies of the requested
documents by contacting the Clerk of the Court and paying the published fee(s). See
www.uscourts.gov.
Dated April 1, 2016, at Denver, Colorado.
BY THE COURT:

s/Lewis T. Babcock________________
LEWIS T. BABCOCK, Senior Judge
United States District Court

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