ORDER RE REQUEST FOR AMENDMENT OF JUDGMENT
(Doc. No. 86)
DALE A. DROZD, District Judge.
On July 15, 2019, defendant was sentence to 162 months incarceration followed by 180 months supervised release, after having pled guilty to one count of receiving material involving the sexual exploitation of minors, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2). (See Doc. No. 67.) The previously assigned district judge included in the criminal judgment a recommendation that defendant be placed in "Littleton, Colorado . . ., insofar as this accords with security classification and space availability." (Id. at 2.)
On February 6, 2020, defendant filed a motion requesting that the criminal judgment be amended to reflect a recommended placement in Englewood, Colorado, within the sex offender management program yard. (Doc. No. 86 at 1-2.) Defendant bases his request in part on the assertion that "no federal prison exists in Littleton, Colorado." (Id. at 1.) A court may correct clerical errors in a criminal judgment outside the normal fourteen (14) day window for amending such a judgment. Compare Fed. R. Crim. P. 35 (a) (permitting a court to correct a sentence that resulted from arithmetic, technical, or other clear error within 14 days) with Fed. R. Crim. P. 36 (permitting correction of a clerical error in a judgment "at any time"). Accordingly, the court construes plaintiff's motion as one to correct a clerical error pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 36. Here, however, there is no error to correct. The Federal Correctional Institution in Englewood, Colorado is technically located in the town of Littleton, Colorado. See Federal Bureau of Prisons: FCI Englewood, https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/eng/(last visited February 12, 2020). Therefore, the court will not amend the criminal judgment.
Defendant's motion raises another matter. According to his return address, defendant is presently housed at the United States Penitentiary in Lompoc, California. (Doc. No. 86.) In his motion defendant complains that he has spent the last five months in the Lompoc Special Housing Unit and has been punished several times for "refusing to walk the yard." (Id. at 2.) Plaintiff asserts that he would be subject to assault if he "walked" the yard. (Id.) Because these issues do not challenge the validity of his conviction or duration of his confinement, the court lacks jurisdiction to consider these issues in the context of this criminal case or under the court's habeas corpus jurisdiction. Defendant's allegations appear, rather, to be a possible complaint about the conditions of his confinement, which must be brought, if at all, under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, (1971). The information contained within defendant's motion provide an insufficient basis for the court to determine with any certainty whether he actually is attempting to bring a Bivens action. Accordingly, the court will not take steps to convert his request into a Bivens claim at this time. See Nettles v. Grounds, 830 F.3d 922, 935 (9th Cir. 2016) (suggesting conversion may be appropriate if sufficient information is ascertainable from the filing). Instead, the Clerk of Court will be directed to send defendant a copy of the court's "Prisoner Civil Rights Packet" along with a copy of this order.
CONCLUSION AND ORDER
For the reasons set forth above:
1. Defendant's request to correct the criminal judgment (Doc. No. 86) to reflect placement in Englewood, Colorado is DENIED as unnecessary; and
2. The clerk of court is directed to send defendant a copy of the court's "Prisoner Civil
Rights Packet" along with a copy of this order.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Instructions for a Prisoner Filing a Civil Rights Complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
1. Who May Use This Form. The civil rights complaint form is designed to help incarcerated persons prepare a complaint seeking relief for a violation of their federal civil rights. These complaints typically concern, but are not limited to, conditions of confinement. This form should not be used to challenge your conviction or sentence. If you want to challenge a state conviction or sentence, you should file a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for a writ of habeas corpus by a person in state custody. If you want to challenge a federal conviction or sentence, you should file a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to vacate sentence in the federal court that entered the judgment.
2. The Form. Incarcerated persons are encouraged to file their complaints using the court-approved form attached to these instructions. The form must be typed or neatly handwritten and must be completely filled in to the extent applicable. All questions must be answered clearly and concisely in the appropriate space on the form. If needed, you may attach additional pages, but are strongly encouraged to limit your complaint to 25 pages of standard letter-sized paper. [Note, if filing electronically under the CDCR pilot program, your complaint, including exhibits, cannot exceed 25 pages, absent permission from the Court.] You must identify which part of the complaint is being continued and number all pages. If you do not fill out the form properly, you will be asked to submit additional or corrected information, which may delay the processing of your action. You do not need to cite law.
3. Your Signature. You must tell the truth and sign the form. If you make a false statement of a material fact, you may be prosecuted for perjury.
4. The Filing and Administrative Fees. The total fees for this action are $400.00 ($350.00 filing fee plus $50.00 administrative fee). If you are unable to pay the fees, you may request leave to proceed in forma pauperis. Please review the "Information for Prisoners Seeking Leave to Proceed with a (Non-Habeas) Civil Action in Federal Court In Forma Pauperis Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915" for additional instructions. The $50.00 administrative fee does not apply to persons granted in forma pauperis status.
5. Original. You must send your complaint to the Court. If you wish to have a file-stamped copy of the complaint returned to you must include a copy of the complaint along with a stamped, self-addressed envelope for that copy to be returned to you. All copies must be identical to the original. Copies may be legibly handwritten.
6. Where to File. You should file your complaint in the division where you were confined when your rights were allegedly violated. If you were confined in Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, or Yuba County, file in the Sacramento Division. If you were confined in Fresno, Calaveras, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare, or Tuolumne County, file in the Fresno Division. Mail the original with the $400 filing and administrative fees or a completed application to proceed in forma pauperis to:
Sacramento Division: OR Fresno Division:
Clerk of the U.S. District Court Clerk of the U.S. District Court
for the Eastern District of California for the Eastern District of California
501 I Street, Room 4-200 2500 Tulare Street
Sacramento, California 95814 Fresno, California 93721
7. Change of Address. You must immediately notify the Court and the defendants in writing of any change in your mailing address. Failure to notify the Court of any change in your mailing address may result in the dismissal of your case.
8. Amended Complaint. If you need to change any of the information in the initial complaint, you must file an amended complaint. The amended complaint must be written on the court-approved civil rights complaint form. You may file one amended complaint without leave (permission) of Court before any defendant has answered your original complaint. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a). After any defendant has filed an answer, you must file a motion for leave to amend and lodge (submit) a proposed amended complaint. L.R. 137(c). In addition, an amended complaint may not incorporate by reference any part of your prior complaint. L.R.220. Any allegations or defendants not included in the amended complaint are considered abandoned. All amended complaints are subject to screening under the Prison Litigation Reform Act; screening your amendment will take additional processing time.
9. Exhibits. You should not submit exhibits with the complaint or amended complaint. Instead, the relevant information should be paraphrased. You should keep the exhibits to use to support or oppose a motion to dismiss, a motion for summary judgment, or at trial.
10. Letters and Motions. It is generally inappropriate to write a letter to any judge or the staff of any judge. The only appropriate way to communicate with the Court is by filing a written pleading or motion.
11. Completing the Civil Rights Complaint Form.
HEADING:
1. Your Name. Print your name, prison or inmate number, and institutional mailing address on the lines provided.
2. Defendants. If there are four or fewer defendants, print the name of each. If you name more than four defendants, print the name of the first defendant on the first line, write the words "and others" on the second line, and attach an additional page listing the names of all of the defendants. Insert the additional page after page 1 and number it "1-A" at the bottom.
3. Jury Demand. If you want a jury trial, you must write "JURY TRIAL DEMANDED" in the space below "CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT BY A PRISONER." Failure to do so may result in the loss of the right to a jury trial. A jury trial is not available if you are seeking only injunctive relief.
Part A. JURISDICTION:
1. Nature of Suit. Mark whether you are filing the complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for state, county, or city defendants; "Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotics Agents" for federal defendants; or "other." If you mark "other," identify the source of that authority.
2. Location. Identify the institution and city where the alleged violation of your rights occurred.
3. Defendants. Print all of the requested information about each of the defendants in the spaces provided. If you are naming more than four defendants, you must provide the necessary information about each additional defendant on separate pages labeled "2-A," "2-B," etc., at the bottom. Insert the additional page(s) immediately behind page 2.
Part B. PREVIOUS LAWSUITS:
You must identify any other lawsuit you have filed in either state or federal court while you were a prisoner. Print all of the requested information about each lawsuit in the spaces provided. If you have filed more than three lawsuits, you must provide the necessary information about each additional lawsuit on a separate page. Label the page(s) as "2-A," "2-B," etc., at the bottom of the page and insert the additional page(s) immediately behind page 2.
Part C. CAUSE OF ACTION:
You must identify what rights each defendant violated. The form provides space to allege three separate claims (one violation per claim). If you are alleging more than three claims, you must provide the necessary information about each additional claim on a separate page. Number the additional pages "5-A," "5-B," etc., and insert them immediately behind page 5. Remember that you are strongly encouraged to limit your complaint to twenty-five pages.
1. Claims. You must identify which civil right was violated. You may allege the violation of only one civil right per claim.
2. Issue Involved. Check the box that most closely identifies the issue involved in your claim. You may check only one box per claim. If you check the box marked "Other," you must identify the specific issue involved.
3. Supporting Facts. After you have identified which civil right was violated, you must state the supporting facts. Be as specific as possible. You must state what each individual defendant did or did not do which you allege violated your rights. If there is more than one defendant, you must identify which defendant did what act. You also should state the date(s) on which the act(s) occurred, if possible.
4. Injury. State precisely how you were injured by the alleged violation of your rights.
5. Administrative Remedies. You must exhaust any available administrative remedies before you file a civil rights complaint. See 42 U.S.C. § 1997e. Consequently, you should disclose whether you have exhausted the inmate grievance procedures or administrative appeals for each claim in your complaint. If the grievance procedures were not available for any of your claims, fully explain why on the lines provided.
Part D. REQUEST FOR RELIEF:
Print the relief you are seeking in the space provided.
SIGNATURE:
You must sign your name and print the date you signed the complaint. Failure to sign the complaint will delay the processing of your action. Unless you are an attorney, you may not bring an action on behalf of anyone but yourself.
FINAL NOTE
You should follow these instructions carefully. Failure to do so may result in your complaint being stricken or dismissed. All questions must be answered concisely in the proper space on the form. You are strongly encouraged to file a complaint that is no longer than twenty-five pages, but the form must be completely filled in to the extent applicable. If you attach additional pages, be sure to identify which section of the complaint is being continued and number the pages. Remember, there is no need to attach exhibits to your complaint.
