(PC) White v. Decker

District Court, E.D. California·Decided October 2, 2024·No. 2:24-cv-01685·Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 11 WILSON LEBRANDON WHITE, No. 2:24-cv-01685-CKD 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER AND 14 DECKER, et al., FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff is a county inmate proceeding without counsel in this civil rights action filed 18 pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This proceeding was referred to this court by Local Rule 302 19 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). 20 Plaintiff requests leave to proceed in forma pauperis. As plaintiff has submitted a 21 declaration that makes the showing required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), his request will be granted. 22 Plaintiff is required to pay the statutory filing fee of $350.00 for this action. 28 U.S.C. §§ 23 1914(a), 1915(b)(1). By separate order, the court will direct the appropriate agency to collect the 24 initial partial filing fee from plaintiff’s trust account and forward it to the Clerk of the Court. 25 Thereafter, plaintiff will be obligated for monthly payments of twenty percent of the preceding 26 month’s income credited to plaintiff’s prison trust account. These payments will be forwarded by 27 the appropriate agency to the Clerk of the Court each time the amount in plaintiff’s account 28 exceeds $10.00, until the filing fee is paid in full. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). 1 I. Screening Requirement 2 The court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a 3 governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The 4 court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims that are legally 5 “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek 6 monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1),(2). 7 A claim is legally frivolous when it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact. 8 Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989); Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1227-28 (9th 9 Cir. 1984). The court may, therefore, dismiss a claim as frivolous where it is based on an 10 indisputably meritless legal theory or where the factual contentions are clearly baseless. Neitzke, 11 490 U.S. at 327. The critical inquiry is whether a constitutional claim, however inartfully 12 pleaded, has an arguable legal and factual basis. See Jackson v. Arizona, 885 F.2d 639, 640 (9th 13 Cir. 1989); Franklin, 745 F.2d at 1227. 14 In order to avoid dismissal for failure to state a claim a complaint must contain more than 15 “naked assertions,” “labels and conclusions” or “a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause 16 of action.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-557 (2007). In other words, 17 “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory 18 statements do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). Furthermore, a claim 19 upon which the court can grant relief has facial plausibility. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570. “A 20 claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw 21 the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. 22 at 678. When considering whether a complaint states a claim upon which relief can be granted, 23 the court must accept the allegations as true, Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93-94 (2007), and 24 construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, see Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 25 U.S. 232, 236 (1974). 26 II. Allegations in the Complaint 27 Before the court could screen the complaint, plaintiff filed a first amended complaint as 28 well as a second amended complaint. ECF Nos. 7, 11. An amended complaint supersedes the 1 original. See Loux v. Rhay, 375 F.2d 55, 57 (9th Cir. 1967). Once plaintiff files an amended 2 complaint, the original pleading no longer serves any function in the case. Therefore, the court 3 will proceed to screen plaintiff’s second amended complaint which is the operative pleading in 4 this case. ECF No. 11. 5 While a pretrial detainee at the Shasta County Jail, plaintiff was placed in an over- 6 crowded cell with at least 20 other people by Deputy Decker, a named defendant in this action. 7 Plaintiff was forced to sleep on a floor which contained urine and feces. According to the second 8 amended complaint, plaintiff was held in these conditions for at least two days. Plaintiff also 9 asserts that defendant Dunham interfered and tampered with his legal mail between January and 10 June, 2024. Plaintiff further contends that this violated his right to free speech and to petition the 11 government as provided in the First Amendment and that it also constituted retaliation against 12 him. 13 III. Legal Standards 14 In light of his pro se status, the court provides plaintiff with the legal standards which may 15 apply to the claims in his amended complaint. 16 A. Linkage 17 The civil rights statute requires that there be an actual connection or link between the 18 actions of the defendants and the deprivation alleged to have been suffered by plaintiff. See 19 Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978); Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362 20 (1976). The Ninth Circuit has held that “[a] person ‘subjects' another to the deprivation of a 21 constitutional right, within the meaning of section 1983, if he does an affirmative act, participates 22 in another's affirmative acts or omits to perform an act which he is legally required to do that 23 causes the deprivation of which complaint is made.” Johnson v. Duffy, 588 F.2d 740, 743 (9th 24 Cir. 1978) (citation omitted). To state a claim for relief under section 1983, plaintiff must link 25 each named defendant with some affirmative act or omission that demonstrates a violation of 26 plaintiff's federal rights. 27 B. Conditions of Confinement 28 Conditions of confinement claims raised by pretrial detainees are analyzed under the 1 Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause, rather than under the Eighth Amendment. Bell v. 2 Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 535 n. 16 (1979); Frost v. Agnos, 152 F.3d 1124, 1128 (9th Cir.1998). 3 Nevertheless, comparable standards apply, with Fourteenth Amendment analysis borrowing from 4 Eighth Amendment standards. Frost, 152 F.3d at 1128. “Jail officials have a duty to ensure that 5 detainees are provided adequate shelter, food, clothing, sanitation, medical care, and personal 6 safety.” Shorter v.

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