Jenkins v. Hutcheson

Filing 180

ORDER denying 166 Motion Requesting Transcripts. Upon receipt of theaforementioned notice from Plaintiff by the Clerk, the Court Orders that Plaintiff's custodian shall forward the funds requested to the Clerk, U.S. District Court, P.O. Box 8286, Savannah, GA 31412. Signed by Chief Judge J. Randal Hall on 08/03/2018. (thb)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
STATESBORO DIVISION

ADRIAN JENKINS,

*
*

Plaintiff,

*
*

V.

*

CV 614-081

*
*

JOSEPH HUTCHESON,

*

Defendant.

*

ORDER

Before

the

Court

is

Plaintiff's

Request

for

Pretrial

Conference and Jury Trial Transcripts (the ''Motion Requesting
Transcripts").

(Doc. 166.)

were

this

held

in

respectively.

A pretrial conference and a trial

matter

on

(See Docs. 156, 157.)

favor of Defendant at trial.

2017,

November

Plaintiff

filed

a

27

and

of

2017,

Judgement was entered in

(See Doc. 158.)

notice

28,

appeal.

On December 4,

(Doc.

159.)

On

December 11, 2017, Plaintiff filed his instant Motion Requesting

Transcripts,

wherein

he

requests

"to

be

provided

with

the

'Pretrial Conference' and the 'Jury Trial' transcripts" because
they 'would better enable [Plaintiff] to effect [his] appeal."
(Doc.

166.)

Appeals

for

transcripts

On

March

the

of

20,

Eleventh

the

2018,

the

Circuit

pretrial

United

sua

conference

prepared "at government expense."

States

sponte

and

(Doc. 176.)

Court

ordered

jury

of

that

trial

The Clerk

be
of

Court subsequently docketed the official transcripts from
pretrial conference and trial in this matter.

the

{Docs. 177, 178.)

Because the Eleventh Circuit now has access to the transcripts

Plaintiff requires to effect his appeal, his Motion Requesting
Transcripts (Doc. 166) is DENIED AS MOOT.
To the extent Plaintiff seeks his own personal copies of

these transcripts at no cost to him, he is not entitled to them.
See Harless

v. United States,

329

F.2d 397,

398-99

(5th Cir.

1964) (''The statutory right to proceed in forma pauperis does
not

include

the

right

to

obtain

copies

of

court

orders,

indictments, and transcript of record, without payment therefor,

for

use

in

proposed

or

prospective

litigation."

(citations

omitted)); see also Jackson v. Florida Dep't of Fin. Servs., 479

F. App'x 289, 292-93 (11th Cir. 2012) ("This Court has never

held that a prisoner's right of access to the courts entitles a
prisoner-plaintiff,

even one proceeding in forma pauperis,

to

free copies of court documents, including his own pleadings."
(citing Harless,

329 F.2d at 398-99)).

Rather, if

Plaintiff

desires personal copies of the transcripts, he must pay for them
and

the Clerk

copies

of

any

requires

prepayment

documents.

See

of

28

fees

prior

U.S.C.

§

to providing

1914(b)

&

(c).

Because Plaintiff previously consented to the collection of fees
in

this

case

(doc.

7),

however,

the

Clerk

is

authorized

to

provide Plaintiff with the transcripts he requests at the cost

of $0.50 per page, totaling $32.50 for the pretrial conference

transcripts and $97.00 for the jury trial transcripts, and to
seek

prepayment

account.
of

of

those

fees

from

Plaintiff's

prison

trust

Accordingly, should Plaintiff desire personal copies

these

transcripts,

he shall

provide written notice

to

the

Clerk stating: (i) the specific documents he desires; and (ii)
his consent to prepayment - from his prison trust account - of
the

aforementioned

copies

of

the

aforementioned
ORDERS

that

requested

to

costs

associated

documents
notice

from

Plaintiff's

the

he

Clerk,

desires.

Plaintiff
custodian

U.S.

with

Upon

by

the

shall

District

the

production

receipt
Clerk,

forward

Court,

P.O.

of

the
the

of

the

Court
funds

Box

8286,

Savannah, GA 31412.

ORDER

ENTERED

at

Augusta,

Georgia,

this

day

of

August, 2018.

J. RAlTOAtt HALL, CHIEF JUDGE

UNITED^^StOTES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA