(PC) Carter v. California Correctional Institution

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedJune 29, 2021
Docket1:19-cv-00358
StatusUnknown

This text of (PC) Carter v. California Correctional Institution ((PC) Carter v. California Correctional Institution) 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
(PC) Carter v. California Correctional Institution, (E.D. Cal. 2021).

Opinion

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 KEITH REAGAN CARTER, Case No. 1:19-cv-00358-DAD-JLT (PC)

12 Plaintiff, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO DISMISS SECOND AMENDED 13 v. COMPLAINT WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND 14 CALIFORNIA CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, et al., (Doc. 21) 15 Defendants. 14-DAY DEADLINE 16 17 The Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims 18 that are legally “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be 19 granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 20 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), (2). “Notwithstanding any filing fee, or any portion thereof, that may have 21 been paid, the court shall dismiss the case at any time if the court determines that . . . the action 22 or appeal . . . fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.” 28 U.S.C. § 23 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). 24 I. PLEADING STANDARDS 25 A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the 26 pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). The statement must give the defendant fair 27 notice of the plaintiff's claims and the grounds supporting the claims. Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N. 28 A., 534 U.S. 506, 512 (2002). Detailed factual allegations are not required, but “[t]hreadbare 2 suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 3 544, 555 (2007)). Plaintiff must set forth “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a 4 claim that is plausible on its face.’” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570). 5 Factual allegations are accepted as true, but legal conclusions are not. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 6 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). 7 The Court construes pleadings of pro se prisoners liberally and affords them the benefit 8 of any doubt. Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010) (citation omitted). This liberal 9 pleading standard applies to a plaintiff’s factual allegations but not to his legal theories. Neitze v. 10 Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 330 n.9 (1989). Moreover, a liberal construction of the complaint may 11 not supply essential elements of a claim not pleaded by the plaintiff, Bruns v. Nat’l Credit Union 12 Admin., 122 F.3d 1251, 1257 (9th Cir. 1997) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted), and 13 courts “are not required to indulge unwarranted inferences.” Doe I v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 572 14 F.3d 677, 681 (9th Cir. 2009) (Metzler Inv. GMBH v. Corinthian Colls., Inc., 540 F.3d 1049, 15 1064 (9th Cir. 2008)). The mere possibility of misconduct and facts merely consistent with 16 liability is insufficient to state a cognizable claim. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678; Moss v. U.S. Secret 17 Serv., 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). 18 II. PLAINTIFF’S ALLEGATIONS 19 Plaintiff’s claims arose during his incarceration at California Correctional Institution in 20 Tehachapi, California. Plaintiff is a practicing Muslim and prays daily. According to Plaintiff, 21 having a prayer rug is a central tenet of Islamic religious traditions and is practiced by inmates in 22 California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation custody. Plaintiff alleges that in 23 September 2017, a “religious package” containing a prayer rug and other religious 24 materials arrived for Plaintiff from the American Arab Message Bookstore (“AAMBS”). 25 Plaintiff describes the prayer rug as the best tapestry not found through other sellers. According 26 to Plaintiff, Corrections Officers Reed and Wadkins refused to release the package to Plaintiff or 27 to Chaplain A. Landou, who had pre-approved the order. Plaintiff argues that Defendants failed 28 to follow CDCR’s Department Operations Manual, which sets forth policies and procedures for 2 Plaintiff’s free exercise of his religious practices. 3 In the absence of his AAMBS rug, Plaintiff states that he was forced “to use make-shift 4 items to pray on as his new found faith called on him to obtain the prayer rug from American 5 Arab Message Book Store . . .” (Doc. 21 at 6.) Plaintiff made numerous requests for the package, 6 and he contends that other inmates were able to receive their prayer rugs from the AAMBS. 7 Plaintiff further alleges that CO Reed threatened to destroy the religious package. 8 Plaintiff filed a complaint against him, but the complaint was denied. Plaintiff asserts that, during 9 the administrative appeals process, CO Reed and CO Wadkins intimidated, threatened, and 10 discriminated against Plaintiff. Before he could exhaust his administrative remedies, Plaintiff 11 was transferred to Mule Creek State Prison. Officials informed Plaintiff that during his transfer, 12 the package was lost or stolen. 13 Plaintiff is currently housed at the Sierra Conservation Center in Jamestown, California. 14 In his second amended complaint, Plaintiff alleges violations of the Religious Land Use and 15 Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000cc–2000cc-5 (“RLUIPA”) (Count I); 16 the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments (Count II); “Failure to Train, Supervise, Audit, and 17 Discipline” officers regarding religious practices (Count III); and the Due Process Clause of the 18 Fifth Amendment (Count IV). (Doc. 21.) He names as defendants the CDCR, CDCR Secretary 19 Ralph Diaz, CCI, Warden J. Sullivan, Associate Warden L. Ludy, Captain T. Gonzalez, Sergeant 20 B. Mello, CO T. Reed, and CO D. Wadkins. Plaintiff sues CO Reed and CO Wadkins in their 21 individual capacities; he sues the other individual defendants in their official capacities. Each 22 claim is asserted against the “Defendants” collectively, and Plaintiff sues for damages against all 23 defendants “jointly and severally.” Plaintiff also requests declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, 24 and fees and costs. 25 III. DISCUSSION 26 A. Linkage and Causation 27 Prisoners may bring claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of constitutional or 28 other federal rights by persons acting “under color of state law.” To state a claim under section 2 the deprivation alleged to have been suffered by the plaintiff. See Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362, 3 373–75 (1976). The Ninth Circuit has held that a person may be liable under section 1983 for an 4 affirmative act, participation in another’s affirmative acts, or omission of an act that he is legally 5 required to do, causing the deprivation of a constitutional right. Johnson v. Duffy, 588 F.2d 740, 6 743 (9th Cir. 1978) (citation omitted). 7 Plaintiff must demonstrate that each defendant personally participated in the deprivation 8 of his rights. Jones v. Williams, 297 F.3d 930, 934 (9th Cir. 2002). This requires the presentation 9 of factual allegations sufficient to state a plausible claim for relief. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678–79; 10 Moss v. U.S. Secret Serv., 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). Under § 1983, the plaintiff must 11 demonstrate that each named defendant personally participated in the deprivation of his rights. 12 Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 676–77; Simmons v. Navajo Cnty., 609 F.3d 1011, 1020-21 (9th Cir. 2010); 13 Ewing v. City of Stockton, 588 F.3d 1218, 1235 (9th Cir. 2009).

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(PC) Carter v. California Correctional Institution, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pc-carter-v-california-correctional-institution-caed-2021.