Newton v. State of Nevada, ex rel, et al.,

Filing 7

ORDER. IT IS ORDERED that 6 Motion to Compel is DENIED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall send Plaintiff the application to proceed in forma pauperis by a prisoner, as well as instructions. Filing fee or Affidavit due 9/30/ 2016. If Plaintiff chooses to file an affidavit, his affidavit must describe the actions he took to acquire the documents through 9/23/2016. Plaintiff shall not file an affidavit before that date. Signed by Magistrate Judge George Foley, Jr on 8/23/2016. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - TR)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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Plaintiff,
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v.
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STATE OF NEVADA et al.,
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Defendants.
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___________________________________ )

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I.

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CHARLES NEWTON,

2:16-cv-01824-KJD-GWF
ORDER

DISCUSSION

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Plaintiff is a pro se prisoner in the custody of the Nevada Department of Corrections

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(“NDOC”). Over the past two months, Plaintiff has initiated four prisoner-conditions-of-

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confinement-cases.1

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application to proceed in forma pauperis. (ECF No. 6). In the three other conditions-of-

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confinement-cases, Plaintiff has not filed fully complete applications to proceed in forma

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pauperis. Plaintiff asserts that he has had difficulties obtaining financial certificates from the

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prison.

In case 2:16-cv-01770-JCM-PAL, Plaintiff filed a fully complete

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In the present case, the Court directed Plaintiff to file a fully completed application to

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proceed in forma pauperis or to pay the full $400 filing fee by September 2, 2016. (ECF No.

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3). On August 8, 2016, Plaintiff filed an incomplete application to proceed in forma pauperis

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and an affidavit explaining that he has had difficulties obtaining a financial certificate from

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prison officials. (ECF No. 4, 4-1). On August 15, 2016, Plaintiff filed a motion asking the Court

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See Newton v. Wintersteen, 2:16-cv-01705-RFB-PAL; Newton v. State of Nevada,
2:16-cv-01824-KJD-GWF; Newton v. State of Nevada, 2:16-cv-01915-JAD-CWH; and Newton
v. State of Nevada, 2:16-cv-01770-JCM-PAL.
Plaintiff also initiated a case challenging his arrest, Newton v. State of Nevada,
2:16-cv-01672-APG-GWF. The Court will address his in forma pauperis application issues in
a separate order in that case.

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to compel prison officials to execute a completed financial certificate for him. (ECF No. 6).

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In light of Plaintiff’s difficulties in obtaining a financial certificate and an inmate account

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statement from the prison, the Court grants Plaintiff until Friday, September 30, 2016, to file

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a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis in each of the three conditions-of-

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confinement-cases that contain incomplete applications.

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financial certificates and inmate account statements from prison officials for each of his three

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conditions-of-confinement-cases. Plaintiff must file a completed application to proceed in

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forma pauperis for each case he wishes to pursue in this Court.

Plaintiff should again request

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If, however, Plaintiff continues to have difficulty obtaining financial certificates and

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inmate account statements for each of his cases, Plaintiff shall file an affidavit in each of his

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cases detailing when he requested the documents, who he spoke to about the status of the

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documents, who he followed up with after he did not receive the documents, and their

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responses. In other words, if Plaintiff is unable to acquire the necessary documents from

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prison officials, he must provide the Court with an affidavit that demonstrates that he has done

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all that he could to acquire the documents by the Court’s deadline. Plaintiff’s affidavit should

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include dates of his requests, dates of his follow-up requests, names of the prison officials that

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he spoke to about the matter, and their responses. If Plaintiff’s affidavit demonstrates that he

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has done all that was possible to acquire the documents, the Court will consider his application

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to proceed in forma pauperis complete.

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II.

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CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, IT IS ORDERED that the motion to compel (ECF No. 6) is

denied.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court SHALL SEND Plaintiff the

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approved form application to proceed in forma pauperis by a prisoner, as well as the document

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entitled information and instructions for filing an in forma pauperis application.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that on or before Friday, September 30, 2016, Plaintiff

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shall either: (1) file a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis, on the correct

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form with complete financial attachments in compliance with 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a); or (2) file
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an affidavit detailing the efforts he took to acquire a financial certificate and an inmate account

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statement from prison officials. If Plaintiff chooses to file an affidavit, his affidavit must

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describe the actions he took to acquire the documents through Friday, September 23, 2016.

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Plaintiff shall not file an affidavit before that date.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that if Plaintiff does not timely comply with this order,
dismissal of this action may result.

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DATED: This 23rd day of August, 2016.

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_________________________________
United States Magistrate Judge

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