(PC) Mitchell v. St. Andre
(PC) Mitchell v. St. Andre
Trial Court Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 COREY MITCHELL, No. 2:24-cv-1506 CKD P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER and FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS 14 R. ST. ANDRE, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and seeking relief pursuant to
42 U.S.C. § 181983 against employees of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. On 19 October 1, 2024, plaintiff’s complaint, amended complaint, and second amended complaint were 20 dismissed with leave to file a third amended complaint. Plaintiff has filed a third amended 21 complaint. 22 The court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a 23 governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The 24 court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims that are legally 25 “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek 26 monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1),(2). 27 Plaintiff asserts that his right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment was 28 violated during prisoner disciplinary proceedings which resulted in plaintiff being found guilty of 1 “misuse of food” by taking milk from the dining hall to his cell. Plaintiff does not deny that he 2 took milk from the dining hall. 3 The only injury plaintiff claims as a result of this finding is that it caused him to be denied 4 parole for three years at his first parole hearing held April 26, 2024. Plaintiff alleges as follows: 5 The [parole] commissioners lauded my rehabilitative efforts and expressed how close I was to earning a parole. They however noted 6 that when they asked me about character defects, I named ‘impulse control’ as one of my past issues. The commissioners felt that I still 7 had work to do on this issue as evidenced by walking out [of] the dining hall with the milk. 8 9 ECF No. 12 at 6. 10 Here, nothing reasonably suggests that plaintiff was denied parole because of the result of 11 the prisoner disciplinary proceedings at issue. In California, parole decisions “shall” be based on 12 “all relevant, reliable information” available to the California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH). 13
Cal. Code Regs. tit. 15, § 2281(b). See
id.(specifying multiple factors panel may consider). See 14 also Nettles v. Grounds,
830 F.3d 922, 935(9th Cir. 2016) (noting that under California parole 15 regulations, “the presence of a disciplinary infraction does not compel the denial of parole, nor 16 does an absence of an infraction compel the grant of parole”). There is nothing before the court, 17 including plaintiff’s own allegations, which reasonably suggests that the BPH violated California 18 law by not considering all information available to it. It is also worth noting that plaintiff asserts 19 that the BPH cited the fact that he walked out of the dining hall with milk which plaintiff admits 20 doing, and not the fact that plaintiff was subjected to prisoner disciplinary proceedings because of 21 that. 22 Because plaintiff fails to identify any actionable injury, plaintiff’s third amended 23 complaint must be dismissed. The court does not grant leave to file a fourth amended complaint 24 as it does not appear that plaintiff can, in good faith, state a claim upon which relief can be 25 granted. 26 In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court 27 assign a district court judge to this case. 28 ///// 1 IT IS HEREBY RECOMMENDED that: 2 1. Plaintiffs third amended complaint be dismissed for failure to state a claim upon 3 || which relief can be granted; and 4 2. This case be closed. 5 These findings and recommendations are submitted to the United States District Judge 6 || assigned to the case, pursuant to the provisions of
28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). Within fourteen days 7 || after being served with these findings and recommendations, plaintiff may file written objections 8 | with the court. The document should be captioned “Objections to Magistrate Judge’s Findings 9 || and Recommendations.” Plaintiff is advised that failure to file objections within the specified 10 || time waives the right to appeal the District Court’s order. Martinez v. YIst,
951 F.2d 1153(9th 11 Cir. 1991). 12 | Dated: February 24, 2025 / ae / a Ly a 13 CAROLYN K DELANEY 14 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 15 16 17 | 4 18 mitc1506.14
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Reference
- Status
- Unknown