STILE v. CUMBERLAND COUNTY SHERIFF et al

Filing 36

ORDER denying 24 Motion for Court to Serve Defendants. By JUDGE JOHN A. WOODCOCK, JR. (MFS)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MAINE
JAMES STILE,
Plaintiff,
v.
CUMBERLAND COUNTY
SHERIFF, et al.,
Defendants.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

2:14-cv-00406-JAW

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR COURT TO SERVE DEFENDANTS
On April 9, 2015, James Stile, a pro se plaintiff, moved the Court to order an
unconventional method of service of pleadings and other papers. Mot. to Allow Pl. to
File Mots., Resps. and Replies with U.S. Dist. Ct. (ECF No. 24).

Mr. Stile is

incarcerated and he says that he does not have the facilities to make copies and he
does not have postage. Id. at 1. He therefore requests that he be allowed to file
originals with the Court and that the Clerk of Court be ordered to provide copies to
defense counsel. Id.
The Court DENIES James Stile’s motion. First, although Mr. Stile is currently
being housed at the SuperMax facility in Maine State Prison in Warren, Maine, he is
scheduled to be sentenced on his federal crime on May 29, 2015, thereby making
whatever problems he is now experiencing temporary. Following that sentencing,
Mr. Stile is likely to be assigned by the Bureau of Prisons to a federal prison. Second,
Mr. Stile is a plaintiff in a civil action and is therefore required to comply with the

Rules of Court. Those rules include Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5(b) in serving
other parties with copies of whatever he files with the Court. FED. R. CIV. P. 5(b).
Third, Mr. Stile has had a history of problems either getting or receiving mail. The
Court wishes to avoid placing the Clerk of Court in the middle of a dispute about
whether and when something was docketed and served. Finally, the Court also
wishes to avoid placing the Clerk and her deputies in the position of being Mr. Stile’s
secretary. By filing his Complaint on his own, Mr. Stile must be prepared to proceed
on his own.
The Court DENIES James Stile’s Motion to Allow Plaintiff to File Motions,
Responses and Replies with United States District Court. (ECF No. 24).
SO ORDERED.

/s/ John A. Woodcock, Jr.
JOHN A. WOODCOCK, JR.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated this 4th day of May, 2015

2