(PC) Mejia v. Espinoza

Opinion

6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

7 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

9 JOSUE A. MEJIA, Case No. 1:24-cv-01381-KES-EPG (PC)

10 Plaintiff,

11 v. DISCOVERY ORDER REQUIRING PARTIES TO EXCHANGE 12 ESPINOZA, et al., DOCUMENTS

13 Defendants. 14 15 To secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive disposition of this action,1 the Court will 16 direct that certain documents that are central to the dispute be promptly produced.2 17 Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that: 18 1. Each party has sixty days from the date of service of this order to serve opposing 19 parties, or their counsel, if represented, with copies of the following documents 20 and/or evidence if they have them in their possession, custody, or control, to the 21 extent these documents exist, are relevant, and the parties have not already done

22 1 See, e.g., United States v. W.R. Grace, 526 F.3d 499, 508–09 (9th Cir. 2008) (“We begin with 23 the principle that the district court is charged with effectuating the speedy and orderly administration of justice. There is universal acceptance in the federal courts that, in carrying out this mandate, a district 24 court has the authority to enter pretrial case management and discovery orders designed to ensure that 25 the relevant issues to be tried are identified, that the parties have an opportunity to engage in appropriate discovery and that the parties are adequately and timely prepared so that the trial can proceed efficiently 26 and intelligibly.”). 2 Advisory Committee Notes to 1993 Amendment to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure regarding 27 Rule 26(a) (“The enumeration in Rule 26(a) of items to be disclosed does not prevent a court from requiring by order or local rule that the parties disclose additional information without a discovery 28 request.”). 1 1 so. Defense counsel is requested to obtain these documents from Plaintiff’s 2 institution(s) of confinement. If defense counsel is unable to do so, defense 3 counsel should inform Plaintiff that a third-party subpoena is required. This 4 order applies to all documents including confidential documents. Moreover, the 5 parties are required to produce these documents, or lodge objections as 6 described below, without awaiting a discovery request. 7 a. Documents regarding exhaustion of Plaintiff’s claims, including 602s, 8 Form 22s, and responses from the appeals, such as Grievance Log No. 9 478432 referenced in Defendants’ scheduling and discovery statement. 10 (ECF No. 31, p. 5). 11 b. Documents regarding a Rules Violation Report associated with the 12 incident(s) alleged in the complaint, including disciplinary charges and 13 findings, such as RVR Log No. 7367346 referenced in Defendants’ 14 scheduling and discovery statement. (ECF No. 31, p. 5). 15 c. Witness statements and evidence that were generated from 16 investigation(s) related to the event(s) at issue in the complaint, such as 17 the investigation into Plaintiff’s allegations referenced in Defendants’ 18 scheduling and discovery statement. (ECF No. 31, p. 7).3 19 d. Incident reports regarding any use of force incident(s) alleged in the 20 complaint, such as Incident Report Log No. 68924 referenced in 21 Defendants’ scheduling and discovery statement. (ECF No. 31, p. 5). 22

23 3 See Woodford v. Ngo, 548 U.S. 81, 94–95 (2006) (“[P]roper exhaustion improves the quality 24 of those prisoner suits that are eventually filed because proper exhaustion often results in the creation of 25 an administrative record that is helpful to the court. When a grievance is filed shortly after the event giving rise to the grievance, witnesses can be identified and questioned while memories are still fresh, 26 and evidence can be gathered and preserved.”). The Court notes that Defendant(s) only need to produce documents such as a Confidential 27 Appeal Inquiry or a Use of Force Critique to the extent those documents contain witness statements related to the incident(s) alleged in the complaint and/or evidence related to the incident(s) alleged in the 28 complaint that will not be provided to Plaintiff separately. 2 1 e. Plaintiff’s medical records related to the incident(s) and/or condition(s) 2 at issue in the case, such as any records that Defendants obtain from 3 Adventist Health Bakersfield as referenced in their scheduling and 4 discovery statement. (ECF No. 31, p. 6). 5 f. Chronos for transfer or Administrative Segregation placement related to 6 the incident(s) alleged in the complaint, if any. 7 g. Video recordings and photographs related to the incident(s) at issue in 8 the complaint, including video recordings and photographs of Plaintiff 9 taken following the incident(s), such as the use-of-force allegation video 10 interview referenced in Defendants’ scheduling and discovery statement. 11 (ECF No. 31, p. 7).4 12 h. Documents, electronically stored information, and tangible things that 13 the disclosing party has in its possession, custody, or control and may 14 use to support its claims or defenses, unless the use would be solely for 15 impeachment, if any. 16 2. If any party obtains documents and/or other evidence described above later in 17 the case (including, but not limited to, documents and/or other evidence from a 18 third party), that party shall provide all other parties with copies of the 19 documents and/or evidence within thirty days. The failure of a party to comply 20 with this requirement may result, among other things, in the party not being able 21 to rely on the pertinent information later in the case. 22 3. Parties do not need to produce documents or evidence that they have already 23 produced. 24 4. Parties do not need to produce documents or evidence that were provided to 25 them by the opposing party. 26 27 4 If Plaintiff is not allowed possess, or is unable to play, video recording(s), defense counsel shall work with staff at Plaintiff’s institution of confinement to ensure that Plaintiff is able to view the 28 video recording(s). 3 1 5. Parties may object to producing any of the above-listed documents and/or 2 evidence. Objections shall be filed with the Court and served on all other parties 3 within sixty days from the date of service of this order (or within thirty days of 4 receiving additional documents and/or evidence). The objection should include 5 the basis for not providing the documents and/or evidence. If Defendant(s) 6 object based on the official information privilege, Defendant(s) shall follow the 7 procedures described in the Court’s scheduling order. 8 6. Ifa party files an objection, all other parties have fourteen days from the date the 9 objection is filed to file a response. If any party files a response to an objection, 10 the Court will issue a ruling on the objection. 11 IT IS SO ORDERED. || Dated: _ September 3, 2025 [sf ey — 14 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28