Saddozai v. Atchley

District Court, N.D. California·Decided November 8, 2022·No. 5:20-cv-07534·Unknown

Opinion

SHIKEB SADDOZAI, Case No. 20-cv-07534 BLF (PR) ORDER OF PARTIAL DISMISSAL Plaintiff, AND OF SERVICE; DENYING MOTION FOR RECUSAL; v. DIRECTING DEFENDANT TO FILE DISPOSITIVE MOTION OR M. B. ATCHLEY, et al., MOTION; INSTRUCTIONS TO Defendants. (Docket No. 39) Plaintiff, a state prisoner, filed the instant pro se civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against defendants at Salinas Valley State Prison (“SVSP”). The Court dismissed the original, first, and second amended complaints with leave to amend to correct various deficiencies. Dkt. Nos. 14, 21, 36. The second amended complaint (“SAC”) was dismissed because it violated Rules 18(a) and 20(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, i.e., improperly joined unrelated claims against unrelated parties. Dkt. No. 36 at 3-4. The Court also found that the SAC contained insufficient allegations to state a claim against each named defendant. Id. at 4. Plaintiff was granted one final opportunity to file a third amended complaint (“TAC”) to correct the deficiencies. Id. Plaintiff’s TAC is before the Court for an initial review. Dkt. No. 38. A. Standard of Review A federal court must conduct a preliminary screening in any case in which a prisoner seeks redress from a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). In its review, the court must identify any cognizable claims and dismiss any claims that are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted or seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. Id. § 1915A(b)(1), (2). Pro se pleadings must be liberally construed. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep't, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1988). To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege two essential elements: (1) that a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States was violated, and (2) that the alleged violation was committed by a person acting under the color of state law. West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988). Liability may be imposed on an individual defendant under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 if the plaintiff can show that the defendant’s actions both actually and proximately caused the deprivation of a federally protected right. Lemire v. Caifornia Dep’t of Corrections & Rehabilitation, 726 F.3d 1062, 1074 (9th Cir. 2013); Leer v. Murphy, 844 F.2d 628, 634 (9th Cir. 1988). A person deprives another of a constitutional right within the meaning of § 1983 if he does an affirmative act, participates in another’s affirmative act or omits to perform an act which he is legally required to do, that causes the deprivation of which the plaintiff complains. Id. at 633. B. Plaintiff’s Claims Plaintiff names one defendant in the TAC: S. Tomlinson, senior/supervising law library at SVSP. Dkt. No. 38 at 2. Plaintiff claims that on July 21, 2020, he gave Defendant Tomlinson his only original habeas corpus petition with exhibits to be copied to be sent to the court. Id. at ¶ 1. Plaintiff claims Defendant read his confidential legal Plaintiff’s right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. Id. at ¶ 2. When Plaintiff complained, Defendant sounded the alarm and had correctional officers remove Plaintiff from the library in handcuffs, which caused cuts, pain, and bruising. Id. at ¶ 3. The officers later forced Plaintiff to strip in the holding cell in the presence of others and issued him a rules violation report (“RVR”) for the incident. Id. Plaintiff claims these actions violated his rights under the Eighth and First Amendments. Id. Plaintiff filed a grievance which was granted, but his legal documents were destroyed, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Id. at ¶ 4. Plaintiff claims that Defendant, along with other correctional staff in charge of the law library, “repeatedly interfere and deny plaintiff meaningful access to law library services, resources, materials, case laws, citations, copy services, [and] violated privacy of protected confidential-legal-privileged documents” out of “deliberate indifference and retaliation stemming from event described and as adverse action for grievances filed and granted and to prevent the prosecution of court actions.” Id. at ¶ 5. Plaintiff claims that he is being treated differently from other prisoners “by affording less or no equal legal services out of discrimination to plaintiff’s race, color, skin, beliefs” in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments and California constitution equivalents. Id. Plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as compensatory and punitive damages. Dkt. No. 38 at 5. Plaintiff asserts violations of his rights under the First, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. The Court will consider each of these claims below. 1. First Amendment Plaintiff claims that Defendant Tomlinson’s actions of sounding the alarm and having officers “remove and arrest” him in handcuffs from the library “for complaining” violated his First Amendment rights. Plaintiff also claims that the officers later conducted a strip search and issued an RVR. It appears that Plaintiff is attempting to tie Defendant Tomlinson to these later acts by other individuals, but the connection is conclusory and is not supported by any facts indicating that Defendant was present during these events.1 Accordingly, the allegations regarding the strip search and RVR are insufficient to establish that Defendant Tomlinson is liable for the related injuries. Leer, 844 F.2d at 633. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Firstly, liberally construed, Plaintiff’s allegations are sufficient to state a claim for the violation of his freedom of speech based on Defendant Tomlinson expelling him from the library “for complaining.” See Shaw v. Murphy, 532 U. S. 223, 229 (2001) (impingement on a prisoner’s First Amendment right to free speech is valid only “if it is reasonably related to legitimate penological interests.”) Secondly, it appears that Plaintiff is attempting to state a violation of his right of access to courts based on his removal from the library and the withholding of his legal papers. Prisoners have a constitutional right of access to the courts. See Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 350 (1996); Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817, 821 (1977). To establish a claim for any violation of the right of access to the courts, the prisoner must prove that there was an inadequacy in the prison’s legal access program that caused him an actual injury. See Lewis, 518 U.S. at 349-51. To prove an actual injury, the prisoner must show that the inadequacy in the prison’s program hindered his efforts to pursue a non-frivolous claim concerning his conviction or conditions of confinement. See id. at 351, 354-55. Similarly, allegations of destruction or confiscation of legal documents may state a claim for denial of access to

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