(PC) Harper v. Robinson

District Court, E.D. California·Decided March 16, 2022·No. 1:21-cv-01364·Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9

10 JOHNATHAN SETH HARPER, Case No. 1:21-cv-01364-JLT-EPG (PC) 11 Plaintiff, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS, 12 RECOMMENDING THAT PLAINTIFF’S v. 13 MOTION FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF BE DAVID ROBINSON, et al., DENIED 14 Defendants. (ECF Nos. 3, 12) 15

16 OBJECTIONS, IF ANY, DUE WITHIN FOURTEEN (14) DAYS 17 18 Plaintiff Johnathan Seth Harper (“Plaintiff”) is a pretrial detainee1 proceeding pro se 19 and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Before the Court 20 is Plaintiff’s motion for injunctive relief. (ECF Nos. 3, 12.) For the reasons set forth below, the 21 Court recommends that Plaintiff’s motion be denied. 22 I. BACKGROUND 23 Plaintiff filed the complaint commencing this action on September 13, 2021. (ECF No. 24 1). Plaintiff also filed a motion requesting a temporary restraining order and injunction 25 concurrently with his complaint. (ECF No. 3.) The Court entered an order on September 15, 26 2021, requesting that the Kings County Sheriff’s Office respond to Plaintiff’s motion. (ECF

27 1 Plaintiff does not state if he is a pretrial detainee or sentenced prisoner. Given that Plaintiff is incarcerated at 28 Kings County Jail, the Court screened Plaintiff’s complaint with the assumption that Plaintiff is a pretrial detainee. 1 No. 6.) On October 6, 2021, the Kings County Sheriff’s Office filed an opposition to the 2 motion. (ECF No. 8.) Plaintiff filed a reply on October 21, 2021. (ECF No. 9.)2 3 Plaintiff’s Motion 4 Plaintiff’s motion requests the following relief:

5 1) To issue a temporary Restraining Order to compel jail officials to reverse new legal mail policy started on 7-7-21 [Exh. A] 6 2) To compel Jail authorities to return all legal papers removed from Plaintiff’s cell on 7-7-21 and to delete thoroughly and shred all copies in all formats 7 3) To compel jail authorities to process and mail out ‘legal mail’ without unnecessary 8 delay 4) To compel jail authorities to process copy requests and other pro per related 9 requests without unnecessary delay 5) To compel Due process hearings and jail-initiated Notifications to the Judges 10 assigned to Plaintiff’s cases before suspension/restriction of Plaintiff’s pro per rights and privileges at any level and regardless if such reduction in Plaintiff’s pro per 11 rights and privileges are a result of jail-wide policy change or if it only applies to Plaintiff 12 6) To compel compliance with the U.S. Constitution, particularly the current violations as shown in claims one through eleven of the Complaint 13 7) To compel all further obstructive conduct toward plaintiff and between Plaintiff and the Courts and Parties to a case cease immediately 14 8) To compel all further retaliation and harassment to Plaintiff to cease immediately 9) To compel all illegitimate, irrational, arbitrary acts and conduct toward Plaintiff 15 10) To compel jail authorities to modify policy, practices, and customs to prohibit any and all policy, practices, and customs from pawning off the responsibilities of jail 16 authorities onto judges 17 (ECF No. 3 at 2-3.) Plaintiff contends that the defendants are violating several of his 18 constitutional rights. (Id. at 3-4.) 19 According to the motion, Plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits and has submitted a 20 declaration as evidentiary support for his claims. (ECF No. 3 at 7-9.) Plaintiff’s declaration 21 generally restates the legal standards and conclusions set forth in the motion. (Id. at 16-19.) 22 Plaintiff also submits a “Request to take Judicial Notice” listing several documents, including 23 the Kings County Jail’s policies, memoranda, and other internal documents, documents related 24 to Plaintiff’s grievance, and case summaries for various state and federal cases. (Id. at 20-21.) 25 Plaintiff does not attach copies of these documents to his request or to the motion. 26 /// 27 28 2 On November 22, 2021, Plaintiff also filed a document titled “[proposed] TRO/preliminary injunction” which appears to request slightly different relief than the motion. (ECF No. 12.) 1 Plaintiff also argues that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm because his 2 constitutional rights have been deprived. (ECF No. 3. at 10-11.) Plaintiff is exercising his Sixth 3 Amendment right to self-representation in his felony criminal case, as well as in civil litigation 4 regarding his conditions of confinement, and other cases. (Id.) Plaintiff is therefore 5 extraordinarily dependent on the government and in an easily exploited position of 6 disadvantage and vulnerability to a wide range of abuses. The balance of equities also favors 7 Plaintiff because he is a pretrial detainee and therefore particularly vulnerable to government 8 oppression. (Id. at 11.) Defendants are not likely to suffer any monetary damage if the 9 requested injunctive relief is granted because no legitimate monetary issues exist in this case. 10 (Id. at 12-13.) Plaintiff has an inadequate remedy at law because the defendants flagrantly and 11 deliberately violate Plaintiff’s constitutional rights and the rights of others. (Id. at 13.) 12 The Kings County Sheriff’s Office’s Opposition 13 On October 6, 2021, the Kings County Sheriff’s Office, through Sheriff David 14 Robinson, submitted an opposition to Plaintiff’s motion for injunctive relief. (ECF No. 8.) The 15 opposition explains that the defendants have a policy regarding legal supplies for pro se 16 inmates in criminal and civil proceedings which provides a waiver of costs for certain supplies, 17 such as copies, writing materials, envelopes, etc., for indigent pro se inmates. (Id. at 1.) 18 Defendants also have a policy for inmates who abuse or misuse their pro se status, supplies, or 19 services, which allows the jail to restrict an inmate’s access to supplies as necessary to ensure 20 the safety and security of the facility. (Id.) 21 Plaintiff was issued an inmate administrative and disciplinary action on July 7, 2021, 22 due to Plaintiff’s misuse and abuse of his pro se status, supplies, or services. (ECF No. 8 at 2.) 23 Specifically, Plaintiff hoarded over 20 manila envelopes intended to be used for legal mail and 24 used them to cover the lights in his cell, thereby obstructing the staff’s view in Plaintiff’s cell. 25 (Id.) Plaintiff also used the manila envelopes to cover contraband. (Id.) 26 Defendants implemented new regulations and procedures for the request of legal 27 envelopes on July 9, 2021. (ECF No. 8 at 2.) Under this new policy, Plaintiff is required to 28 request envelopes for legal mail once his documents are prepared and finalized for mailing. 1 (Id.) Jail staff will then bring only the appropriate amount of envelopes, have Plaintiff place his 2 prepared documents inside, and mail the envelopes out. (Id.) 3 According to the opposition, Plaintiff lacks standing because he has not provided 4 evidence of any real or immediate threat that he will be harmed by the legal mail policy, or that 5 enjoining the enforcement of the legal mail policy will redress Plaintiff’s injury. (ECF No. 8 at 6 4.) Plaintiff also has failed to demonstrate that any of the Winter factors weigh in his favor. (Id. 7 at 4.) Additionally, Plaintiff is unlikely to succeed on the merits of his claims. (Id. at 5-7.) The 8 legal mail policy is rationally related to Defendants’ need for security and safety of inmates and 9 the jail staff, as well as its limited resources. (Id. at 5.) The legal sized envelopes can be used to 10 hide contraband, as Plaintiff was found to be doing, creating a security risk. (Id. at 6.) Plaintiff 11 also fails to demonstrate irreparable harm because the jail’s policy still provides Plaintiff with 12 legal envelopes upon request. (Id.

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