United States v. Sewell

Full title: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. BOOKER T. SEWELL

Court: UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT INDIANA FORT WAYNE DIVISION

Date published: Feb 4, 2019

CAUSE NO.: 1:11-CR-35-TLS (N.D. Ind. Feb. 4, 2019)

Opinion

CAUSE NO.: 1:11-CR-35-TLS

02-04-2019

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. BOOKER T. SEWELL

CHIEF JUDGE THERESA L. SPRINGMANN UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

OPINION AND ORDER

Pending before the Court is the Defendant's Motion to Vacate Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 [ECF No. 247]. The Defendant, in connection with the Motion, has filed a Motion for Transcripts [ECF No. 249]. However, the text of the Motion does not identify any transcripts. Rather, the Defendant asked that the Court "direct the Government to provide" him with "a full and complete copy of his case file." He specifically identifies the following as necessary to supplement his Motion: the Indictment; Jury Verdict Forms; Jury Instructions, witness list; pictures, etc, and; all other motions.

For the documents already in the Court's file, the Seventh Circuit has construed 28 U.S.C. § 753(b) to allow an indigent defendant to obtain free copies of such documents if he shows that he has exhausted all other means of access to the file and that the documents requested are necessary for preparation of a specific, non-frivolous court action. See United States v. Rush, 559 F.2d 455, 459 (7th Cir. 1977). Before the Court will provide free copies of the requested documents to the Defendant, he must demonstrate that he is unable to pay for them, such as through a certified record of his prison account for the last six months. He must also show that he has exhausted all other means of access to the documents, such as through trial or appellate counsel. Moreover, as many of the items requested appear to have no bearing on the issue raised in his Motion to Vacate, the Defendant must also make a showing as to the purpose of the documents with respect to specific claims in his Motion to Vacate. For example, there is no ground raised in his Motion for which the witness list or photographic evidence would be relevant.

The Defendant's Motion does not attempt to make any of the showings outlined above, but simply urges the Court to require the Government, at its expense, to provide him with a full and complete copy of his case file. Accordingly, the Court DENIES WITHOUT PREJUDICE the Defendant's Motion for Transcripts [ECF No. 249].

SO ORDERED on February 4, 2019.

s/ Theresa L. Springmann

CHIEF JUDGE THERESA L. SPRINGMANN

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT