Opinion
No. 2:18-cv-2145 AC P
08-07-2018
SCOTT JONES, Plaintiff, v. CALIFORNIA MEDICAL FACILITY, Defendant.
ORDER
This matter was transferred to this court from the United States District Court for the Central District of California. ECF No. 4. Plaintiff is a state prisoner at the California Medical Facility (CMF) who states that he is disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In a document styled as a letter "To Judge," plaintiff seeks to challenge a July 17, 2018 CMF decision transferring him to a Special Needs Yard (SNY) program; plaintiff insists he belongs in the prison's general population and does not want to be placed in the SNY or any other program. The Central District construed this letter as a complaint; however, to proceed with this action, plaintiff will be required to file a true complaint on the form provided herewith.
On the other hand, the following legal authority would support a request from plaintiff that this action be voluntarily dismissed. Prisoners have no constitutional right to a particular classification status. See Hernandez v. Johnston, 833 F.2d 1316, 1318 (9th Cir. 1987) (citing Moody v. Daggett, 429 U.S. 78, 88 n.9 (1976)). "[I]t is well settled that prison officials must have broad discretion, free from judicial intervention, in classifying prisoners in terms of their custodial status." McCord v. Maggio, 910 F.2d 1248, 1250 (5th Cir. 1990) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted); accord, Garcia v. Biter, 2016 WL 2625840, at *2 n.2, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61252, at *5 n.2 (Case No. 1:13cv0599 LJO SKO P) (E.D. Cal. May 9, 2016) ("Plaintiff's housing status and other custody or classification factors are left to the sound discretion of prison officials.").
Nevertheless, plaintiff will be accorded the opportunity to proceed. To commence an action in this court, plaintiff must file a complaint as required by Rule 3 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and plaintiff must either pay the required filing fee of $400.00, or submit an application requesting leave to proceed in forma pauperis. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914(a), 1915(a).
The $400.00 is comprised of the $350.00 filing fee and a $50.00 administrative fee. If plaintiff is granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis, plaintiff is not required to pay the $50.00 administrative fee.
If leave to file in forma pauperis is granted, plaintiff will still be required to pay the filing fee of $350.00 but will be allowed to pay it in installments. --------
In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. Plaintiff shall, within thirty days (30) after the filing date of this order:
a. Complete and file a complaint on the form provided with this order; the complaint must bear the docket number assigned this case; and
b. Complete and submit the application to proceed in forma pauperis on the form provided with this order, OR pay the filing fee in the amount of $400.00.
2. Alternatively, based on the legal standards set forth above, plaintiff may request the voluntary dismissal of this action within thirty days (30) after the filing date of this order.
3. Plaintiff's failure to comply with this order will result in a recommendation that this action be dismissed. //// //// //// ////
4. The Clerk of the Court is directed to:
a. Designate on the docket that plaintiff's initially-filed document (ECF No. 1), is a "Letter," not a complaint; and
b. Send plaintiff, together with a copy of this order: (i) the court's form complaint for commencing a civil rights action by a prisoner, and (ii) an application to proceed in forma pauperis by a prisoner.
IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: August 7, 2018
/s/_________
ALLISON CLAIRE
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE