(PC)Winfield v. Silva

• Court: District Court, E.D. California
• Decided: March 12, 2025
• Docket: 1:25-cv-00170
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 6 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 7 8 MICHAEL JEROME WINFIELD, Case No. 1:25-cv-00170-KES-BAM (PC) 9 Plaintiff, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT PLAINTIFF’S MOTIONS FOR LEAVE 10 v. TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS BE DENIED 11 SILVA, et al., (ECF No. 2, 7) 12 Defendants. FOURTEEN (14) DAY DEADLINE 13 14 Plaintiff Michael Jerome Winfield (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se in this 15 civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 16 Plaintiff initiated this action on February 11, 2025, together with an unsigned motion to 17 proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915. (ECF Nos. 1, 2.) Plaintiff filed a signed 18 motion to proceed in forma pauperis on March 3, 2025 and a certified copy of his prison trust 19 account statement on March 11, 2025. (ECF Nos. 7, 12.) 20 Examination of Plaintiff’s trust account statement reveals that Plaintiff is able to afford the 21 costs of this action. Specifically, Plaintiff’s current available balance in his inmate trust account 22 is $28,411.84. (ECF No. 12.) In a declaration filed in support of his motion to proceed in forma 23 pauperis, Plaintiff indicates that he is currently in negotiation with an attorney to represent him in 24 his criminal case, which may require him to exhaust his current balance of $29,882.59 as of 25 February 23, 2025. (ECF No. 7, p. 3.) 26 Despite Plaintiff’s assertions that the entirety of his trust account balance must be used to 27 pay for representation in his criminal action, Plaintiff has not stated specifically how much he 28 must allocate towards this attorney. In addition, review of Plaintiff’s trust account statement 1 reveals that since the filing of this action on February 11, 2025, Plaintiff has spent approximately 2 $100.00 on miscellaneous expenses, including kiosk requests, legal copies, legal mail, and sales. 3 (ECF No. 12, p. 2.) Since Plaintiff last reviewed his own trust account balance of $29,882.59, 4 Plaintiff has spent approximately $1,400.00 on similar miscellaneous expenses and voluntary 5 withdrawals, none of which appear to be directed towards payment of legal representation. (Id.) 6 In light of the record before the Court, it appears Plaintiff is more than able to afford the costs of 7 this action, including the $405.00 initial filing fee, without proceeding in forma pauperis. 8 Accordingly, it is HEREBY RECOMMENDED that: 9 1. The motions to proceed in forma pauperis, (ECF Nos. 2, 7), be DENIED; and 10 2. Plaintiff be ORDERED to pay the $405.00 initial filing fee in full to proceed with this 11 action. 12 These Findings and Recommendations will be submitted to the United States District 13 Judge assigned to the case, pursuant to the provisions of Title 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(l). Within 14 fourteen (14) days after being served with these Findings and Recommendations, Plaintiff may 15 file written objections with the court. The document should be captioned “Objections to 16 Magistrate Judge’s Findings and Recommendations.” Objections, if any, shall not exceed 17 fifteen (15) pages or include exhibits. Exhibits may be referenced by CM/ECF document 18 and page number if already in the record before the Court. Any pages filed in excess of the 19 15-page limit may not be considered. The parties are advised that failure to file objections 20 within the specified time may result in the waiver of the “right to challenge the magistrate’s 21 factual findings” on appeal. Wilkerson v. Wheeler, 772 F.3d 834, 838–39 (9th Cir. 2014) (citing 22 Baxter v. Sullivan, 923 F.2d 1391, 1394 (9th Cir. 1991)). 23 IT IS SO ORDERED. 24

25 Dated: March 11, 2025 /s/ Barbara A. McAuliffe _ UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 26

27 28