Opinion
CR 99-0142-PCT-RCB.
May 16, 2006
ORDER
Defendant Calvin J. Nez, Jr., has filed a Declaration in Support of Request to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Doc. #191) and Attachments in Support of Request to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Doc. #192). Defendant seeks leave to proceed in forma pauperis so that he can obtain free copies of documents he needs in order to prepare a petition for post-conviction relief. Although 28 U.S.C. § 753(f) authorizes the district court to provide transcripts to a defendant at no cost in some cases, it does not authorize the district court to order payment for transcripts if the defendant has not yet filed a collateral attack on his conviction or sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. United States v. MacCollom, 426 U.S. 317, 321 (1976). Defendant does not currently have § 2255 proceedings pending in this Court. Accordingly, to the extent that Defendant seeks copies at Court expense, his Request must be denied. If Defendant seeks the copies at his own expense, he should submit a request directly to the Clerk of Court. If Defendant seeks copies of transcripts, his request to the Clerk of Court should be presented using a transcript request form.
Because Defendant Nez's prior § 2255 Motion was denied on the merits on April 30, 2004, see Doc. #168, he may not file a second § 2255 motion with this Court unless he first obtains leave to do so from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. See 28 U.S.C. § 2255 ("[a] second or successive motion must be certified as provided in section 2244 by a panel of the appropriate court of appeals").
IT IS ORDERED that Defendant Nez's Declaration in Support of Request to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Doc. #191) and Attachments in Support of Request to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Doc. #192) are denied. The Clerk of Court shall provide Defendant Nez with a copy of the docket in this case and a transcript request form.