Opinion
2:21-cv-1267 DAD KJN P
07-17-2023
AKIVA ISRAEL, Plaintiff, v. RUBY CARTER, Defendant.
ORDER
KENDALL J. NEWMAN UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Plaintiff is a state prisoner, proceeding in forma pauperis and without counsel, with a civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Pending before the court is plaintiff's request for a copy of her deposition transcript. For the reasons stated herein, plaintiff's request is denied.
On May 10, 2023, defendant filed a summary judgment motion. (ECF No. 77.) On June 21, 2023, the undersigned granted plaintiff a thirty days extension of time to file an opposition to defendant's summary judgment motion. (ECF No. 80.) On July 10, 2023, plaintiff filed a request for a copy of her deposition transcript, docketed as “opposition” to defendant's summary judgment motion. (ECF No. 81.)
In the pending request, plaintiff states that defendant used “misleading excerpts” from plaintiff's transcript in support of the summary judgment motion. (Id. at 1.) Plaintiff states that she cannot afford to purchase the deposition transcript. (Id.) Plaintiff claims that she cannot adequately oppose defendant's summary judgment motion without her deposition transcript. (Id.) Plaintiff requests that she be provided with a copy of her deposition transcript free of charge. (Id.)
The law does not require that plaintiff be provided a free copy of her deposition transcript unless she paid for a copy, and defendant is under no obligation to provide plaintiff with a free copy of the transcript. Furthermore, plaintiff's in forma pauperis status does not authorize the expenditure of public funds for deposition transcripts. 28 U.S.C. § 1915; Tedder v. Odel, 890 F.2d 210, 211-12 (9th Cir. 1989) (per curiam) (“[T]he expenditure of public funds [on behalf of an indigent litigant] is properly only when authorized by Congress”) (quoting United States v. MacCollom, 426 U.S. 317, 321 (1976)). For these reasons, plaintiff's request for a copy of her deposition transcript is denied.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. Plaintiff's request for a copy of her deposition transcript (ECF No. 81) is denied;
2. Plaintiff is granted an extension of thirty days from the date of this order to file her opposition to defendant's summary judgment motion; no further requests for extension of time will be granted.