Chesser v. Director Federal Bureau of Prisons

Filing 4

ORDER DIRECTING PLAINTIFF TO CURE DEFICIENCY by Magistrate Judge Gordon P. Gallagher on 9/10/15. (dkals, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO

Civil Action No. 15-cv-01939-GPG
(The above civil action number must appear on all future papers
sent to the court in this action. Failure to include this number
may result in a delay in the consideration of your claims.)
ZACHARY A. CHESSER,
Plaintiff,
v.
DIRECTOR, BUREAU OF PRISONS,
Defendant.

ORDER DIRECTING PLAINTIFF TO CURE DEFICIENCY

On December 22, 2014, Mr. Chesser filed pro se a Complaint for Declaratory and
Injunctive Relief in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. (ECF No.
3). On the same day, that Court granted Mr. Chesser leave to proceed in forma
pauperis. (ECF No. 1-9). On July 15, 2015, the Court granted Defendant’s Motion to
Transfer the case to the District of Colorado. (ECF No. 1). The case was transferred
and docketed in this Court on September 8, 2015. (ECF No. 1 and 3).
The court must construe the Complaint liberally because Mr. Chesser is not
represented by an attorney. See Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520-21 (1972); Hall v.
Bellmon, 935 F.2d 1106, 1110 (10th Cir. 1991). However, the court should not be an
advocate for a pro se litigant. See Hall, 935 F.2d at 1110. As part of the court’s review
pursuant to D.C.COLO.LCivR 8.1(a) and (b), the court has determined that the

Complaint is deficient as described in this order. Therefore, Mr. Chesser will be ordered
to cure the following deficiency if he wishes to pursue his claims in this action.
Any papers that Plaintiff files in response to this order must include the civil
action number on this order.
28 U.S.C. § 1915 Motion and Affidavit:
is not submitted
(1)
(2)
is missing affidavit
is missing certified copy of prisoner’s trust fund statement for the 6-month
(3)
period immediately preceding this filing
(4)
is missing certificate showing current balance in prison account
(5)
is missing required financial information
(6)
is missing authorization to calculate and disburse filing fee payments
is missing an original signature by the prisoner
(7)
(8)
is not on proper form (must use the court’s current form)
(9)
names in caption do not match names in caption of complaint, petition or
habeas application
(10)
other:
Complaint, Petition or Application:
(11)
is not submitted
(12) xx
is not on proper form (must use current court-approved form).
is missing an original signature by the prisoner
(13)
(14)
is missing page nos.
(15)
uses et al. instead of listing all parties in caption
(16)
names in caption do not match names in text
(17)
addresses must be provided for all defendants/respondents in “Section A.
Parties” of complaint, petition or habeas application
other:
.
(18)
The Prisoner Complaint is not on the Court-approved Prisoner Complaint form.
Local Civil Rules 1.2 and 5.1(c) for this Court require pro se litigants to use the Courtapproved forms found on the Court’s website. The United States Court of Appeals for
the Tenth Circuit repeatedly has upheld the requirement that pro se litigants comply with
local court rules requiring use of proper Court-approved forms, and rejected
constitutional challenges to such rules. See Georgacarakos v. Watts, 368 F. App'x 917,

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918-19 (10th Cir. 2010) (district court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing civil
rights action without prejudice for federal prisoner's noncompliance with local rules
requiring use of proper court-approved form to file complaint and district court's order to
comply), Durham v. Lappin, 346 F. App'x 330, 332-33 (10th Cir. 2009) (it was within
district court's discretion to dismiss prisoner's complaint for failure to comply with local
rules requiring pro se litigants to use court-approved forms, and local rule did not violate
prisoner's equal protection rights). Accordingly, it is
ORDERED that Applicant cure the deficiency designated above within thirty
(30) days from the date of this order. Any papers that Applicant files in response to
this order must include the civil action number on this order. It is
FURTHER ORDERED that Applicant shall obtain the court-approved Prisoner’s
Complaint form (with the assistance of his case manager or the facility’s legal assistant),
along with the applicable instructions, at www.cod.uscourts.gov. It is
FURTHER ORDERED that, if Applicant fails to cure the designated deficiency
within thirty (30) days from the date of this order, the action will be dismissed
without further notice. The dismissal shall be without prejudice.
DATED September 10, 2015, at Denver, Colorado.
BY THE COURT:
s/ Gordon P. Gallagher
United States Magistrate Judge

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