Opinion
CIVIL NO. 1:CV-07-2312.
January 8, 2008
ORDER
THE BACKGROUND OF THIS ORDER IS AS FOLLOWS:
The pro se plaintiff, Jonathan Lee Riches, currently has thirteen cases pending in this district. He filed three others that were dismissed without prejudice when he failed to respond to an order requiring him to either pay the filing fee or apply for in forma pauperis status. On January 7, 2008, the Clerk of Court received eighteen more complaints from him, all of them only a half-page long and all of them appearing to be frivolous. Plaintiff has also been filing numerous cases in other federal districts that have been dismissed for various reasons, including frivolousness. See Riches v. Duncan, No. SA-07-CA-863-RF (NN), 2007 WL 3333103 (W.D. Tex. Nov. 8, 2007) (listing cases).
To prevent the plaintiff from burdening the resources of this court with frivolous lawsuits, we intend to enter an injunction prohibiting him from filing additional complaints or other intended filings in this court unless he has first submitted any such documents to the undersigned for permission to file the document. In deciding whether to permit the document to be filed, the court will review it for frivolousness.
The injunction will be in the following form:
Accordingly, this ___ day of _______, 2008, it is ordered that:
1. Before attempting to file any document with the Clerk of Court, including in any of his closed or pending cases, plaintiff Jonathan Lee Riches shall mail the document to the undersigned for permission to file it. If the court finds that the document is frivolous, the court will direct that it not be docketed. The mailing address is P.O. Box 983, Harrisburg, PA 17108.
3. The document shall be accompanied by a certification that: (1) Plaintiff believes the facts alleged in the document are true; and (2) Plaintiff knows of no reason to believe any claims or requests for relief set forth in the document are foreclosed by controlling law.
3. Plaintiff is advised that if he fails to make the necessary certification or if it is found that the certification was falsely made, he may be found in contempt of court and punished accordingly.
4. If the Clerk of Court receives any documents from Jonathan Lee Riches, the Clerk shall submit them to the undersigned for a frivolousness review before filing. If any document is determined to be frivolous, it will not be docketed.
The purpose of this order is to give Plaintiff twenty days to show cause why the injunction should not be filed. Plaintiff is advised that if he has any serious claim about his conditions of confinement, he can seek relief in a court in South Carolina, where he is incarcerated.
Accordingly, this 8th day of January, 2008, it is ordered that:
1. Plaintiff shall have twenty days from the date of this order to show cause why the injunction should not be filed.
2. If Plaintiff fails to do so, the injunction will be entered.
3. The Clerk of Court shall not docket any of the complaints received on January 7, 2008, until further order of court.