Opinion
CASE NO. 13cv2982-LAB (KSC)
09-08-2015
JORDAN B. STERNS, Plaintiff, v. MR. LAWRENCE, Defendant.
ORDER DISMISSING PETITION
Petitioner Jordan Sterns, a prisoner in federal custody, filed this petition seeking relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Sterns challenges the conditions of his confinement; specifically, he argues that he has inadequate access to a law library and as a result cannot properly defend himself in an unnamed criminal case. He seeks an order requiring that he be transferred to a different facility with an adequate law library.
The Court is required to screen pleadings filed by prisoners, and to dismiss them to the extent they fail to state a claim. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court is also obligated to confirm its own jurisdiction, sua sponte if necessary. See United Investors Life Ins. Co. v. Waddell & Reed Inc., 360 F.3d 960, 966 (9th Cir. 2004).
Under § 2241, habeas relief is available to a federal prisoner in federal custody if he can show he is "in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States." 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(1) & (3). But Sterns is challenging the conditions of his confinement, and not the fact or duration of his confinement. A civil rights action, not a habeas corpus proceeding, is the proper mechanism for a prisoner seeking to challenge the conditions of his confinement. See Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971).
Furthermore, in both the criminal cases against Sterns, 11cr4789-BTM and 11cr3920-BTM, both titled United States v. Sterns, he has been represented by counsel. He is not entitled to a law library. See Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817, 829 (1977) (right of access to courts requires providing prisoners with adequate law libraries or adequate assistance from persons trained in the law); United States v. Wilson, 690 F.2d 1267, 1293 (9th Cir. 1982) (criminal defendant represented by counsel was not entitled to access to a law library). And to the extent he claims he cannot adequately represent himself, that claim is moot.
The petition is DENIED.
IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: September 8, 2015
/s/_________
HONORABLE LARRY ALAN BURNS
United States District Judge