KENDALL J. NEWMAN, Magistrate Judge.
Plaintiff is a state prisoner, proceeding without counsel, with a civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This action is set for trial before the Honorable Morrison C. England on January 5, 2015 as to the following claims: whether defendant Medina violated the Eighth Amendment and state law by failing to prescribe Tramadol to plaintiff upon his return to High Desert State Prison ("HDSP") in November 2008.
On June 20, 2014, plaintiff filed a motion to compel prison officials at California State Prison-Corcoran ("Corcoran") to return property allegedly confiscated from plaintiff's cell. (ECF No. 170). On July 21, 2014, the undersigned denied this motion. (ECF No. 174.) On August 11, 2014, plaintiff filed a motion for reconsideration, addressed to the undersigned, of the July 21, 2014 order. (ECF No. 176.) For the following reasons, the motion for reconsideration is granted in part and denied in part.
Although motions to reconsider are directed to the sound discretion of the court,
Courts construing Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e), providing for the alteration or amendment of a judgment, have noted that a motion to reconsider is not a vehicle permitting the unsuccessful party to "rehash" arguments previously presented, or to present "contentions which might have been raised prior to the challenged judgment."
No defendants are located at Corcoran. This court is unable to issue an order against individuals who are not parties to a suit pending before it.
However, under the All Writs Act, "all courts established by Act of Congress may issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law." 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a). It is "not a grant of plenary power to federal courts."
Use of the All Writs Act is appropriate in cases where prison officials, not named as defendants, allegedly have taken action that impedes a prisoner's ability to litigate his case.
In the June 20, 2014 motion to compel, plaintiff alleged that prison officials at Corcoran wrongfully confiscated the following property from his cell: 1) Weinstein's Evidence Manual; 2) Student Guide to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; 3) Prisoner's Self Help Litigation Manual; 4) California Prisoners Handbook; 5) Protecting Your Health and Safety; 6) Webster's Dictionary and Thesaurus; 7) miscellaneous legal documents; 8) LEAF digital antenna and coax cable; 9) Sony ear buds; 10) Clear tunes power adapter for radio; 11) Coastline Community College Spanish Text Books; 12) Spanish/English Dictionary; and 13) insoles to Nike Shoes. (ECF No. 170 at 4.)
In the July 21, 2014 order, the undersigned found that plaintiff had not demonstrated that his ability to litigate this case was impeded as a result of not having access to the property allegedly confiscated. (ECF No. 174 at 2-3.) The undersigned found that plaintiff did not require any of the listed materials in order to proceed to trial. (
In the pending request for reconsideration, plaintiff first argues that his ability to proceed to trial is impeded as a result of not having access to his law books. (ECF No. 176 at 2.) The undersigned again finds that plaintiff's ability to proceed to trial is not impeded because he does not have access to the allegedly confiscated law books.
Plaintiff also identifies several trial exhibits as having been confiscated. First, plaintiff alleges that he is missing pages 1-7 HDSP Operational Procedure # 744. Plaintiff alleges that defendant produced this document during discovery. (
Because plaintiff is no longer housed at HDSP, he no longer has access to HDSP Operational Procedures. So that this matter may be resolved without further orders, defendant is directed to provide plaintiff with these missing pages from HDSP Operational Procedure # 744 within twenty-one days.
Plaintiff alleges that he is missing Inmate Medical Services Policies and Procedures ("IMSPP") chapters 4, 8, 11, 16 and 25 from Volume 4. (
Plaintiff alleges that he is missing documents from his medical records. (
Because plaintiff is able to obtain copies of the documents from his medical records allegedly confiscated by Corcoran officials, plaintiff's request for reconsideration regarding these documents is denied.
Plaintiff also states that he has an envelope containing copies of 602 appeals and Progress notes identified as trial exhibits. (ECF No. 176 at 3.) Plaintiff alleges that the original 602 appeals and Progress notes were confiscated. (
Plaintiff alleges that he is missing trial and work product notes. (
Plaintiff also claims that several of his pleadings previously filed with the court are missing. (
It does not appear that plaintiff requires all of these documents to proceed to trial. For example, ECF No. 25 is a motion for an extension of time to conduct discovery. Many of these documents are not relevant to the claims against defendant Medina which will proceed to trial. Plaintiff has not demonstrated that his ability to proceed to trial is impeded due to the alleged confiscation of the documents listed above. Copies of documents may be obtained by printing from the public terminals at the Clerk's Office or by contacting Cal Legal Support Group at 3104 "O" Street, Suite 291, Sacramento, CA, 95816, phone 916-441-4396.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: