John Laponte v. Gavin Newsom, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedSeptember 15, 2025
Docket2:24-cv-02808
StatusUnknown

This text of John Laponte v. Gavin Newsom, et al. (John Laponte v. Gavin Newsom, et al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
John Laponte v. Gavin Newsom, et al., (E.D. Cal. 2025).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JOHN LAPONTE, No. 2:24-cv-2808 CSK P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 GAVIN NEWSOM, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel. Plaintiff seeks relief pursuant to 18 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and is proceeding in forma pauperis. This proceeding was referred to this Court 19 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1) and Local Rule 302. Plaintiff’s amended complaint is now 20 before the Court. As discussed below, plaintiff’s amended complaint is dismissed with leave to 21 amend. 22 I. SCREENING STANDARDS 23 The court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a 24 governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The 25 court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims that are legally 26 “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek 27 monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), (2). 28 /// 1 A claim is legally frivolous when it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact. 2 Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989); Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1227-28 (9th 3 Cir. 1984). The court may, therefore, dismiss a claim as frivolous where it is based on an 4 indisputably meritless legal theory or where the factual contentions are clearly baseless. Neitzke, 5 490 U.S. at 327. The critical inquiry is whether a constitutional claim, however inartfully 6 pleaded, has an arguable legal and factual basis. See Jackson v. Arizona, 885 F.2d 639, 640 (9th 7 Cir. 1989); Franklin, 745 F.2d at 1227. 8 A complaint, or portion thereof, should only be dismissed for failure to state a claim upon 9 which relief may be granted if it appears beyond doubt that plaintiff can prove no set of facts in 10 support of the claim or claims that would entitle him to relief. Hishon v. King & Spalding, 11 467 U.S. 69, 73 (1984) (citing Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46 (1957)); Palmer v. 12 Roosevelt Lake Log Owners Ass’n, 651 F.2d 1289, 1294 (9th Cir. 1981). In reviewing a 13 complaint under this standard, the court must accept as true the allegations of the complaint in 14 question, Hosp. Bldg. Co. v. Rex Hosp. Trustees, 425 U.S. 738, 740 (1976), construe the pleading 15 in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and resolve all doubts in the plaintiff's favor, Jenkins v. 16 McKeithen, 395 U.S. 411, 421 (1969). 17 II. PLAINTIFF’S AMENDED COMPLAINT 18 Initially, plaintiff objects to the imposition of the Court’s filing fee, and again attempts to 19 pursue this case as a class action. (ECF No. 29.) Plaintiff states that he: 20 challenges the very fabric of both statutory law’s Penal Code Section 1168(a) and (b), including PC § 1170, which as intertwined law are 21 unconstitutional, subjecting criminal defendants unknowingly to indeterminate terms, giving jurisdiction to an unlawful panel of 22 appointed tyrants known as the Board of Parole Hearings who, having been appointed by the Governor of the State of California 23 GAVIN NEWSOM, in direct violation of statutory law PC § 5057(4) (“The selection of persons and their appointment by the Governor 24 and confirmation by the Senate shall reflect as nearly as possible a cross section of the racial, sexual orientation, gender identity, 25 economic, and geographic features of the population of the State.”). 26 (ECF No. 29 at 2.) Plaintiff contends that Board of Parole Hearings (hereafter “Board”), is 27 composed of “CDCR employees, career guards, wardens, and employees of the Inspector 28 General,” which does not represent a cross-section of California’s population, which results in a 1 “Homeboy Network,” who manipulate statutory law, and guarantees “oppression and systemic 2 racial denials of parole. (Id.) 3 Plaintiff states that on April 2, 2018, the California Supreme Court relieved the Board of 4 its obligations to calculate base and adjusted base terms for inmates serving a sentence of life 5 with the possibility of parole. In re Butler, 4 Cal. 5th 728 (2018). In response, plaintiff alleges 6 the Executive Officer Jennifer Shaffer “repealed all parole guidelines” which calculated terms for 7 prisoners serving indeterminate terms, and also repealed the mitigating and aggravating factors 8 used to consider parole suitability. (ECF No. 29 at 3.) Plaintiff contends the repeal of these 9 guidelines turned all terms of 25 or 15 years to life with the possibility of parole into sentences of 10 life without the possibility of parole, subjecting prisoners to systemic and racial deprivation with 11 no guidelines to make appropriate parole determinations. (Id.) 12 Further, plaintiff states that even if the Board set the base and adjusted base terms prior to 13 April 2, 2018, those dates mean nothing because the Board must still find these prisoners suitable 14 for parole, citing the Ex Post Facto Clause. (Id.) On September 13, 2016, plaintiff claims his 15 term was fixed at 12 years by using guidelines in effect prior to 1977, even though plaintiff 16 received an Indeterminate Sentencing Law (“ISL”) term on March 21, 1990. (Id. (citing id. at 23- 17 26).) Plaintiff contends he has now served his 12 year term three times over as he is now in his 18 35th year in custody for a non-murder conviction. (ECF No. 29 at 4.) Plaintiff argues that 19 § 3041(c) should have been applied to plaintiff on September 13, 2016, because the trial court 20 sentenced plaintiff to an ISL term which was repealed September 1, 1976, and implemented the 21 sentence on March 1, 1990 under DSL PC § 1170. (Id. at 5 (citing id. at 23-26).) Plaintiff 22 maintains that “had the superior court sentenced him to a determinate and indeterminate term 23 plaintiff would have no legal argument,” but that is not what the court did. (Id.) 24 Plaintiff argues that once the Board fixed his base and adjusted term that expired on April 25 26, 2000, neither the Board nor the CDCR had jurisdiction to keep plaintiff in custody because 26 there remained no administrative guidelines for parole, having been repealed as of April 1, 2018. 27 (Id. at 7.) Plaintiff contends he does not have to be found suitable for parole if his legal term, 28 fixed on September 13, 2016, legally expired pursuant to California Penal Code §§ 3041(c) and 1 1170.2. (Id. (citing id. at 23.) Plaintiff points out that he has not received a determinate term 2 release date calculation because he does not have DSL term, and his ISL term expired on April 3 26, 2000, pursuant to California Penal Code §§ 3041(c) and 1170.2. (Id.

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Conley v. Gibson
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Bluebook (online)
John Laponte v. Gavin Newsom, et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/john-laponte-v-gavin-newsom-et-al-caed-2025.