Opinion
Civil Action No. 09-00983-WYD-KLM
03-24-2013
WELLMAN E. GIBSON, Plaintiff, v. ANNA MARIE CAMPBELL, C. HOLST, AIC, SHIRLEY STEINBECK, MARSHALL GRIFFITH, LT. STEINBECK, and DOCTOR ASSEN, Defendants.
MINUTE ORDER
ENTERED BY MAGISTRATE JUDGE KRISTEN L. MIX
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff's Request To Obtain Copies of Case Law [Docket No. 367; Filed February 26, 2013] (the "Motion"). No response has been filed. Plaintiff contends in the Motion that he needs additional time in the prison law library to make copies of cases that he will need for trial. He states that during the week before he filed the Motion, he was allowed to spend four hours in the law library.
A prisoner does not have a constitutional right to spend time in a law library. See Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 351 (1996) (holding that Supreme Court case law "did not create an abstract, freestanding right to a law library or legal assistance..."). Rather, use of a law library is a means to satisfy the constitutional requirement of meaningful access to the courts. Id.
Here, Plaintiff is not claiming denial of access to the courts. He acknowledges that he is allowed to spend time in the prison law library. He simply wants more time. However, absent some showing that his right of access to the courts is being denied, the Court will not interfere with prison officials' determination of the amount of time Plaintiff is permitted to spend in the law library. Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Motion [#367] is DENIED.