Opinion
Case No. 20-cv-61610-BLOOM
10-09-2020
DYNZA MACKEY, Movant, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent.
cc: Dynza Mackey 19578-104 D. Ray James Correctional Institution Inmate Mail/Parcels Post Office Box 2000 Folkston, GA 31537 PRO SE Noticing 2255 US Attorney Email: usafls-2255@usdoj.gov
ORDER
THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon the pro se Movant's "Motion for Further Extension of Time." ECF No. [18]. Movant filed his initial Motion to Vacate pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 in August. ECF No. [1]. After Magistrate Judge Reid ordered Movant to amend the Motion, he moved for an extension of time, which Judge Reid granted. ECF Nos. [8] & [11].
Movant has again moved for a further extension, asserting that he needs more time to file his Amended Motion because he is unable to access his legal documents or the law library at his institution of confinement. ECF No. [18]. He claims that his institution withheld his legal materials due to the projected closing of the facility, and is continuing to deny him access even though the facility closure has now been delayed until next year. Id. at 2. As such, in addition to his request for an extension of time, he requests the Court order the facility to provide him his legal materials and access to the law library. Id.
It is well-settled that inmates are not entitled to equitable tolling of the statute of limitations simply based on an inability to access the law library. See Akins v. United States, 204 F.3d 1086, 1089 (11th Cir. 2000). Regardless, even if Movant was so entitled, he has not alleged any specific facts to suggest what issues he wishes to research in the law library in preparation for filing his Amended Motion, nor has he alleged any specific facts to suggest that why he needs his legal documents to draft the Amended Motion.
Moreover, "courts should be particularly deferential to the informed discretion of corrections officials" in the implementation of prison regulations and procedures. See Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 90 (1987) (citing Jones v. North Carolina Prisoners' Union, 433 U.S. 119, 132 (1977)). Here, Movant does not provide any facts to suggest that such extraordinary circumstances exist that would warrant Court interference with prison procedures regarding access to the law library at his facility of confinement.
Lastly, to the extent the Court construes Movant's request as one for injunctive relief, his Motion fails because: (1) he has not established a substantial likelihood of success on the merits; and (2) his facility of confinement is a non-party to this action, and he has not established any facts that the facility is in privity with the opposing party in this case. See Schiavo ex rel. Schindler v. Schiavo, 403 F.3d 1223, 1225-26 (11th Cir. 2005) (stating that a movant must establish a substantial likelihood of success on the merits as one of the requirements to warrant injunctive relief); ADT LLC v. NorthStar Alarm Services, LLC, 853 F.3d 1348, 1352 (11th Cir. 2017) (finding that an injunction can only bind a nonparty if the "relationship between the one who is a party on the record and the non-party is sufficiently close") (internal citation omitted).
However, the Court is not unsympathetic to Movant's situation, and will afford him a final extension of time to file his Amended Motion to Vacate. Therefore, it is
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that
1. Movant's "Motion for Further Extension of Time," ECF No. [18] is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. The request for an extension of time is GRANTED,
but the request for an order compelling the institution to provide Movant his legal materials and access to the law library is DENIED.
2. The Clerk shall resend to Petitioner a copy of Judge Reid's prior Order to Amend, ECF No. [5], and a § 2255 form motion.
3. Petitioner shall file his Amended Motion to Vacate by November 9, 2020, complying with all other requirements of Judge Reid's prior Order.
4. No further extensions of time will be considered absent circumstances that are truly extraordinary.
DONE AND ORDERED at Miami, Florida, this 9th day of October, 2020.
/s/ _________
BETH BLOOM
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE cc: Dynza Mackey
19578-104
D. Ray James
Correctional Institution
Inmate Mail/Parcels
Post Office Box 2000
Folkston, GA 31537
PRO SE
Noticing 2255 US Attorney
Email: usafls-2255@usdoj.gov