Opinion
2:21-cv-01063-JDP (PC)
04-24-2023
D'ANNUNZIO PATRON, Plaintiff, v. SCOTT IVEY, et al., Defendants.
ORDER
JEREMY D. PETERSON, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Plaintiff is a county inmate proceeding without counsel in this civil rights action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff claims that he is being denied access to the law library at Fresno County Jail. ECF No. 38. He claims that only inmates who are litigating as either pro se or pro per are allowed access to the jail's law library. Id. at 1. While “[p]risoners have a right to meaningful access to the courts, [] there is no absolute right to use a prison law library.” Springfield v. Khalit, 2018 WL 5980155, at *3 (E.D. Cal. Nov. 14, 2018) (citing Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 346 (1996)).
Plaintiff should have access to the library and may show this order to the appropriate officials at the jail to demonstrate that he is engaged in active litigation as a pro se litigant. Should plaintiff continue to have difficulty accessing the law library, he may seek assistance from the court.
Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that plaintiff's request for access to the law library, ECF No. 38, is denied.
Plaintiff is reminded that his opposition or statement of non-opposition to defendants' motion to compel, ECF No. 36, is due by April 24, 2023. See ECF No. 37.
IT IS SO ORDERED.