Opinion
NO. CV 15-2491-PA (AS)
09-23-2015
GORDON BULLOCK, Plaintiff, v. WARDEN ELVIN VALENZUELA, et. al., Defendants.
ORDER ACCEPTING FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. section 636, the Court has reviewed the Complaint, all of the records herein, and the Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge. After having made a de novo determination of the portions of the Report and Recommendation to which Objections were directed (see Docket Entry No. 8), the Court concurs with and accepts the findings and conclusions of the Magistrate Judge. However, the Court addresses certain arguments raised in the Objections below.
Plaintiff contends that his complaint is directed to the prison officials' failure to timely process his grievance regarding the loss of his 30-day good time credit rather than a challenge to the sentence imposed for the disciplinary violation. See Docket Entry No. 8. However, "inmates lack a separate constitutional entitlement to a specific prison grievance procedure[,]" and the failure to properly process an inmate's grievance does not give rise to a cognizable constitutional claim. Ramirez v. Galaza, 334 F.3d 850, 860 (9th Cir. 2003); Buckley v. Barlow, 997 F.2d 494, 495 (8th Cir. 1993) (per curiam) ("'A prison grievance procedure is a procedural right only, it does not confer any substantive right upon the inmates. Hence, it does not give rise to a protected liberty interest requiring the procedural protections envisioned by the fourteenth amendment.' Thus, defendants' failure to process any of [the inmate's] grievances, without more, is not actionable under section 1983." (citation and internal punctuation omitted)). Accordingly, Petitioner's objections to the Report and Recommendation do not cause the Court to reconsider its decision to accept the Magistrate Judge's conclusions and recommendations.
IT IS ORDERED that Judgment shall be entered dismissing this action without prejudice.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk serve copies of this Order and the Judgment herein on Plaintiff at his current address of record.
LET JUDGMENT BE ENTERED ACCORDINGLY.
DATED: September 23, 2015.
/s/_________
PERCY ANDERSON
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE