Calvillo v. Marquez

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedDecember 15, 2022
Docket5:22-cv-05693
StatusUnknown

This text of Calvillo v. Marquez (Calvillo v. Marquez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Calvillo v. Marquez, (N.D. Cal. 2022).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 CARLOS CALVILLO, Case No. 22-cv-05693-KAW (PR)

8 Plaintiff, ORDER OF SERVICE 9 v.

10 OFFICER J. MARQUEZ, 11 Defendant.

12 13 Plaintiff Carlos Calvillo, a state prisoner incarcerated at the Correctional Training Facility 14 (“CTF”), has filed a pro se civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging the violation 15 of his constitutional rights by Officer J. Marquez. Plaintiff is granted leave to proceed in forma 16 pauperis in a separate order. The Court now addresses the claims asserted in Plaintiff’s complaint. 17 DISCUSSION 18 I. Standard of Review 19 A federal court must conduct a preliminary screening in any case in which a prisoner seeks 20 redress from a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 21 1915A(a). In its review, the court must identify any cognizable claims and dismiss any claims that 22 are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted or seek monetary 23 relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. Id. § 1915A(b)(1), (2). Pro se pleadings 24 must be liberally construed. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1988). 25 To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege two elements: (1) that a 26 right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States was violated, and (2) that the alleged 27 violation was committed by a person acting under the color of state law. West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 1 Liability may be imposed on an individual defendant under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 if the 2 plaintiff can show that the defendant’s actions both actually and proximately caused the 3 deprivation of a federally protected right. Lemire v. Caifornia Dep’t of Corrections & 4 Rehabilitation, 726 F.3d 1062, 1074 (9th Cir. 2013); Leer v. Murphy, 844 F.2d 628, 634 (9th Cir. 5 1988). A person deprives another of a constitutional right within the meaning of § 1983 if he does 6 an affirmative act, participates in another’s affirmative act or omits to perform an act which he is 7 legally required to do, that causes the deprivation of which the plaintiff complains. Id. at 633. 8 II. Legal Claims 9 Plaintiff alleges the following: 10 On February 16, 2022, Officer Marquez supervised a raid on Plaintiff’s housing unit. Dkt. 11 No. 1 at 6 ¶¶ 7-8. Plaintiff filed a CDCR-602 complaint, alleging that the raid violated Covid-19 12 protocols and named Officer Marquez in the complaint. Id. ¶ 8. As a result of the raid, Plaintiff’s 13 tablet was confiscated, and he was issued a Rules Violation Report (RVR). Id. ¶ 9. On March 10, 14 2022, Plaintiff appeared at his RVR hearing where Officer Marquez was the Senior Hearing 15 Officer. Id. ¶ 10. Plaintiff informed Marquez that it was improper for Marquez to preside over the 16 hearing because Marquez had supervised the raid and was named in Plaintiff’s complaint. Id. ¶ 17 11. Marquez responded with profanity and stated: “. . . I know all about your 602; you guys are 18 getting worse than all these niggers filing 602’s and lawsuits.” Id. ¶ 12. Plaintiff asked Marquez 19 to clarify his statement, to which Marquez responded: “Well, I find you guilty, and I’m taking 20 away all your shit, clear enough?” Id. ¶ 13. Marquez then issued various sanctions against 21 Plaintiff, including the loss of credits, and stated: “Your[sic] Mexican Mafia and I’m going to treat 22 you as such.” Id. ¶¶ 14, 25. Marquez then added, “You motherfuckers don’t have shit coming 23 from me.” Id. ¶ 14. Plaintiff filed a complaint against Marquez for his conduct at the RVR 24 hearing. Id. ¶ 15. 25 Plaintiff contends that his rights under the First amendment were violated when he was 26 subjected to retaliation by Marquez at the RVR hearing for filing a grievance against Marquez 27 after the raid. Liberally construed, Plaintiff has stated a claim for relief under the First 1 2 Plaintiff also contends that his due process rights were violated because Marquez presided 3 over the raid, issued the RVR, and served as the senior hearing officer at the RVR hearing where 4 Plaintiff was punished with sanctions, including the loss of credits. Liberally construed, Plaintiff 5 has stated a claim for relief under the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause. See Wolff v. 6 McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 571 (1974) (decision-maker in a prison disciplinary hearing must be 7 “sufficiently impartial to satisfy the Due Process Clause.”). 8 Finally, Plaintiff maintains that his rights under the equal protection clause were violated 9 during the RVR hearing when Marquez made racist statements and insinuated that he found 10 Plaintiff guilty based on Plaintiff’s race. Liberally construed, Plaintiff has stated a claim for relief 11 under the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause. See Serrano v. Francis, 345 F.3d 12 1071, 1082 (2003) (“[t]o state a claim for violation of the Equal Protection Clause, a plaintiff must 13 show that the defendant acted with an intent or purpose to discriminate against him based upon his 14 membership in a protected class. . . . Intentional discrimination means that a defendant acted at 15 least in part because of a plaintiff’s protected status.”) (internal citations any quotation marks 16 omitted). 17 CONCLUSION 18 For the foregoing reasons, the Court orders as follows: 19 1. The following defendant at the Correctional Training Facility shall be served: 20 Officer J. Marquez. Service on the defendant shall proceed under the California Department of 21 Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) e-service program for civil rights cases from prisoners 22 in CDCR custody. In accordance with the program, the Clerk is directed to serve on CDCR via 23 email the following documents: the operative complaint and any attachments thereto, (Docket No. 24 1), this order of service, the notice of assignment of prisoner case to a United States magistrate 25 judge and accompanying magistrate judge jurisdiction consent or declination to consent form, a 26 CDCR Report of E-Service Waiver form and a summons. The clerk also shall serve by mail a 27 copy of this order on Plaintiff. 1 the Court a completed CDCR Report of E-Service Waiver advising the Court which defendant(s) 2 listed in this order will be waiving service of process without the need for service by the United 3 States Marshal Service (USMS) and which defendant(s) decline to waive service or could not be 4 reached.

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