Lawrence v. County of Elko et al

Filing 22

ORDER Plaintiff's request for copies (ECF No. 21 ) is granted in part and denied in part. The Clerk of the Court will send to Plaintiff the approved form for filing a § 1983 complaint, instructions for the same, a copy of his or iginal complaint (ECF No. 1 -1), and a copy of the docket sheet. (Form, instructions, complaint, and PACER docket sheet attached hereto for distribution to P via NNCC law library.) If Plaintiff would like copies of any other filings, he mu st fill out the appropriate paperwork and pay for the copies. It is further ordered that if Plaintiff wishes to pursue his claims, he may initiate a new action by filing a new complaint and a new application to proceed in forma pauperis in a new case. Signed by Magistrate Judge William G. Cobb on 10/16/2020. (Attachments: # 1 1983 form and instructions, # 2 Copy of Complaint, # 3 Copy of Docket Sheet)(Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - DRM)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEVADA
INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING A CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT
BY AN INMATE UNDER 42 U.S.C. § 1983
A.

Who May Use This Form

You must use the attached form if you are an inmate. The attached 42 U.S.C. § 1983
civil rights complaint form is designed to help inmates prepare a complaint seeking relief for
alleged violations of their federal civil rights. These complaints typically concern, but are not
limited to, conditions of confinement.
Do not use this form if you are challenging the length of your sentence or the validity of
your conviction. If you want to challenge a state conviction or sentence, you should file a
petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for writ of habeas corpus by a person in state custody. If you
want to challenge a federal conviction or sentence, you should file a motion under 28 U.S.C. §
2255 to vacate sentence in the federal court that entered judgment.
B.

Filing a § 1983 Civil Rights Action

To initiate a § 1983 civil rights action, you must submit: (1) a completed complaint form
and (2) a check or money order for $400 (which includes the $350 filing fee and the $50
administrative fee), or an inmate application to proceed in forma pauperis.
If you have the money to pay the full $400 filing fee, please send a check or money
order made payable to “CLERK, U.S. DISTRICT COURT” with your complaint.
If you are unable to pay the entire filing fee at the time you submit your complaint, please
complete an inmate’s application to proceed in forma pauperis. You may request the packet
titled “Information for Filing an Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis by an Inmate under 28
U.S.C. § 1915.”
In civil actions filed by pro se (self-represented) inmates, the action must be filed in the
unofficial division of the court in which the inmate is incarcerated when the complaint is
submitted for filing. See Local Rules of Practice for the United States District Court for the
District of Nevada (“LR”) IA 1-6, 1-8. The Clerk of the Court maintains offices in Las Vegas and
Reno at the following addresses:
Unofficial Southern Division (Clark, Esmeralda, Lincoln, & Nye counties):
U.S. District Court Office of the Clerk
333 Las Vegas Boulevard, South, Room #1334
Las Vegas, NV 89101
Unofficial Northern Division (all other counties):
U.S. District Court Office of the Clerk
400 S. Virginia Street, Room #301
Reno, NV 89501
If you are incarcerated at a facility that uses electronic filing, please continue to use
electronic filing.
Page 1 of 3
Revised 10/7/16

C.

Completing the Civil Rights Complaint Form

General Information
 You must complete the form in its entirety. All questions must be answered in order for
your action to proceed. Your responses must be typewritten or legibly handwritten. You
must sign page 9 of the form and declare under penalty of perjury that the facts stated in
the complaint are true and correct.


Do not write on the back of any of the pages. All information must be clearly and
concisely written in the space provided on the form. Do not write in the margins. If you
attach additional pages to the form, you must identify which section of the complaint is
being continued and number the pages accordingly (e.g., 2-A, 2-B, 3-A, 3-B, etc.).



All inmate-litigants are required to follow the Local Rules of Practice for the United
States District Court for the District of Nevada. A copy of the Local Rules is maintained
at each Nevada Department of Corrections Facility.

Heading/Caption
 Your Name: Print your full name, prison or inmate number, and institutional mailing
address on the lines provided.


Defendants: If there are five or fewer defendants, print the name of each. If you are
suing more than five defendants, print the name of the first defendant on the first line
and write “see additional pages for defendants” on the second line. On an additional
page, you must list the names of all defendants. Insert this additional page after page 1
and number the page “1-A” at the bottom.



Jury Demand: If you want a jury trial, you must write “JURY TRIAL DEMANDED” in the
space below “CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT PURSUANT TO 42 U.S.C. § 1983.”



Bivens Action: If you are filing a complaint in which you are naming a federal officer as a
defendant instead of a state, county, or city official, you should cross out “42 U.S.C. §
1983” and below it write “BIVENS ACTION.”

Part A: Jurisdiction
 Page 1: Fill in all of the requested information about you on page 1 in the spaces
provided.


Page 2: Fill in all of the requested information about each of the defendants in the
spaces provided. If you are naming more than five defendants, then make a copy of
page 2 of the form and provide the necessary information for the additional defendants.
Label the page(s) “2-A”, “2-B”, etc. at the bottom of the page and insert the additional
page(s) immediately behind page 2.



Page 3: If you wish to assert jurisdiction under a different or additional statute(s), list
them on page 3.

///

Page 2 of 3
Revised 10/7/16

Part B: Nature of the Case
 Briefly give an overview of your case by providing general facts about your case. This is
not the place to provide detailed information about what each defendant did to violate
your rights (see Part C).
Part C: Cause of Action
 This is where you identify what rights you claim the defendant(s) violated. The form
provides three pages for alleging three counts. If you are alleging more than three
counts, then attach an additional page for each additional count (so that there is only
one count per page). Number the additional pages “6-A”, “6-B”, etc. and insert the
pages immediately behind page 6.


You must identify which civil rights you claim have been violated.



You need to state facts supporting the violation. You should be as specific as possible
and describe what each individual defendant did to violate your rights. You should name
the individual defendants and include dates when possible.

Part D: Previous Lawsuits and Administrative Relief
 You must identify any other lawsuit you have filed in either state or federal court that
relates to the same or similar claims that you have alleged in this civil rights complaint.


You must exhaust any available administrative remedies before you file a civil rights
complaint. See 42 U.S.C. § 1997e. Consequently, you should disclose whether you
have exhausted the inmate grievance procedures or administrative appeals for each
claim in your complaint. If the grievance procedures were not available for any of your
claims, fully explain why on the lines provided.

Part E: Request for Relief
 Print the relief you are seeking in the space provided.
Signature
 You must sign your name and print the date you signed the complaint. Failure to sign
the complaint will delay the processing of your action. If someone wrote this civil rights
complaint for you (such as an inmate law clerk), that person must write their name on
the line next to your signature.
D.

Amended Complaints

If you need to change any information in the initial complaint, you must file an amended
complaint. The amended complaint must be written on the court-approved civil rights form. The
amended complaint must be complete in itself and may not incorporate by reference any part of
your prior complaint. Any allegations or defendants not included in the amended complaint are
considered abandoned. Please refer to LR 15-1 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 15 for how and when a
party may move the court to file an amended complaint.

Page 3 of 3
Revised 10/7/16

Name

Prison Number
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEVADA
,
Plaintiff,

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

vs.
,
,
,
,
,
Defendant(s).

CASE NO.
(To be supplied by the Clerk)
CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT
PURSUANT TO
42 U.S.C. § 1983

A. JURISDICTION
1)

,

This complaint alleges that the civil rights of Plaintiff,
(Print Plaintiff’s name)
who presently resides at

, were

violated by the actions of the below named individuals which were directed against
Plaintiff at

on the following dates
(institution/city where violation occurred)
,

(Count I)

Revised 10-7-16

, and
(Count II)

.
(Count III)

Make a copy of this page to provide the below
information if you are naming more than five (5) defendants
2) Defendant

resides at
,
(full name of first defendant)
(address if first defendant)
. This defendant is sued in his/her
and is employed as
(defendant’s position and title, if any)
individual
official capacity. (Check one or both). Explain how this defendant was
acting
under color of law:

3) Defendant

resides at

,

(full name of first defendant)
(address if first defendant)
and is employed as
. This defendant is sued in his/her
(defendant’s position and title, if any)
individual
official capacity. (Check one or both). Explain how this defendant was
acting
under color of law:
4) Defendant

resides at

,

(full name of first defendant)
(address if first defendant)
and is employed as
. This defendant is sued in his/her
(defendant’s position and title, if any)
individual
official capacity. (Check one or both). Explain how this defendant was
acting
under color of law:

5) Defendant

resides at
,
(full name of first defendant)
(address if first defendant)
. This defendant is sued in his/her
and is employed as
(defendant’s position and title, if any)
individual
official capacity. (Check one or both). Explain how this defendant was
acting
under color of law:

2

6) Defendant

resides at

,

(full name of first defendant)
(address if first defendant)
and is employed as
. This defendant is sued in his/her
(defendant’s position and title, if any)
individual
official capacity. (Check one or both). Explain how this defendant was
acting
under color of law:

7) Jurisdiction is invoked pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1343 (a)(3) and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. If you wish
to assert jurisdiction under different or additional statutes, list them below.

------------------------------

1)

B. NATURE OF THE CASE
Briefly state the background of your case.

----------------------------C. CAUSE OF ACTION
3

COUNT I
The following civil rights has been violated:

Supporting Facts: [Include all fact you consider important. State the facts clearly,
in your own words, and without citing legal authority or argument. Be sure you
describe exactly what each specific defendant (by name) did to violate your rights].

4

COUNT II
The following civil rights has been violated:

Supporting Facts: [Include all fact you consider important. State the facts clearly,
in your own words, and without citing legal authority or argument. Be sure you
describe exactly what each specific defendant (by name) did to violate your rights].

5

COUNT III
The following civil rights has been violated:

Supporting Facts: [Include all fact you consider important. State the facts clearly,
in your own words, and without citing legal authority or argument. Be sure you
describe exactly what each specific defendant (by name) did to violate your rights].

---------------------------------D. PREVIOUS LAWSUITS AND ADMINISTRATIVE RELIEF
1)

Have you filed other actions in state or federal courts involving the same or similar facts
as involved in this action?
Yes
No. If your answer is “Yes”, describe each
lawsuit. (If more than one, describe the others on an additional page following the below
6

outline).
a)
b)

Name of court and docket number:

c)

Disposition (for example, was the case dismissed , appealed or is it still pending?):

d)

Issues raised:

e)

Approximate date it was filed:

f)
2)

Defendants:

Approximate date of disposition:

Have you filed an action in federal court that was dismissed because it was determined to
be frivolous, malicious, or failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted?
Yes

No. If your answer is “Yes”, describe each lawsuit. (If you had more than

three actions dismissed based on the above reasons, describe the others on an additional page
following the below outline.)
Lawsuit #1 dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or failed to state a claim:
a)

Defendants:

.

b)

Name of court and case number:

.

c)

The case was dismissed because it was found to be (check one):
malicious or

frivolous

failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.

d)

Issues raised:

e)

Approximate date it was filed:

f)

Approximate date of disposition:

Lawsuit #2 dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or failed to state a claim:
a)

Defendants:

.

b)

Name of court and case number:

.

7

c)

The case was dismissed because it was found to be (check one):
malicious or

frivolous

failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.

d)

Issues raised:

e)

Approximate date it was filed:

f)

Approximate date of disposition:

Lawsuit #3 dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or failed to state a claim:
a)

Defendants:

.

b)

Name of court and case number:

.

c)

The case was dismissed because it was found to be (check one):
malicious or

failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.

d)

Issues raised:

e)

Approximate date it was filed:

f)

3)

frivolous

Approximate date of disposition:

Have you attempted to resolve the dispute stated in this action by seeking relief from the
proper administrative officials, e.g., have you exhausted available administrative grievance
procedures?

Yes

No. If your answer is “No”, did you not attempt administrative

relief because the dispute involved the validity of a: (1)
state or federal court decision; (3)
board decision; or (5)

disciplinary hearing; (2)

state or federal law or regulation; (4)

other

parole
.

If your answer is “Yes”, provide the following information. Grievance Number

.

Date and institution where grievance was filed

.

Response to grievance:

8

------------------E. REQUEST FOR RELIEF
I believe that I am entitled to the following relief:

I understand that a false statement or answer to any question in this complaint will
subject me to penalties of perjury. I DECLARE UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY
UNDER THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA THAT THE
FOREGOING IS TRUE AND CORRECT. See 28 U.S.C. § 1746 and 18 U.S.C. § 1621.

(Name of Person who prepared or helped
prepare this complaint if not Plaintiff)

(Signature of Plaintiff)

(Date)
---------------------------(Additional space if needed; identify what is being continued)

9