1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 MARLIN PENN, Case No. 1:18-cv-01482-KES-HBK (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER ADOPTING FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS AND GRANTING 13 v. DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT 14 A. LUCAS, Docs. 99, 118 15 Defendant. 16 17 Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis on his second 18 amended complaint filed pursuant to

. Doc. 19. The matter was referred to a 19 United States magistrate judge pursuant to

(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 302. 20 On August 19, 2024, the assigned magistrate judge issued findings and recommendations 21 to grant defendant A. Lucas’s motion for summary judgment (Doc. 99). Doc. 118. Plaintiff 22 timely filed objections, Doc. 119, and defendant filed a response to plaintiff’s objections, 23 Doc. 120. 24 Plaintiff’s objections largely reiterate his position that defendant was required to forward 25 all staff complaints to the hiring authority, regardless of their procedural deficiencies. See Doc. 26 119. As the magistrate judge correctly noted, this assertion is contrary to the plain language of 27 the applicable regulations at the time of the incident, which state that “[a] staff complaint filed by 28 an inmate or parolee shall be processed as an appeal pursuant to this Article . . . .” (Cal. Code 1 Regs. tit. 15 3084.9(i)), and that an appeals coordinator “shall screen all appeals prior to 2 acceptance and assignment for review.” Doc. 118 at 21 (citing Cal. Code Regs. tit. 15 3 § 3084.5(b)) (emphasis added).1 Thus, defendant’s actions in screening plaintiff’s staff 4 complaints were consistent with his duties under Title 15. Moreover, as the magistrate judge 5 correctly noted, because plaintiff has no constitutional right to a particular grievance process, 6 Doc. 118 at 22, defendant’s improper screening or failure to process plaintiff’s staff complaints 7 would not amount to a constitutional violation. See, e.g., Wright v. Shannon,

at 8 *5 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 2, 2010) (plaintiff’s allegations that prison officials denied or ignored his inmate 9 appeals failed to state a cognizable claim under the First Amendment); Burgos v. Canino,

Supp. 2d 443, 454 (E.D. Pa. 2009) (finding that the rejection or denial of prison grievances does not 11 constitute adverse action for purposes of a retaliation claim), aff’d, 358 Fed. App’x 302 (3d Cir. 12 2009). 13 Plaintiff asserts that the magistrate judge has been “extremely bias[ed] and prejudicial” and 14 intentionally issued the findings and recommendations after plaintiff was placed in restrictive 15 housing, knowing that he would not have access to his legal materials. See generally Doc. 119. 16 Plaintiff provides no support for this baseless accusation and appears merely to disagree with the 17 magistrate judge’s findings. See United States v. Johnson,

(9th Cir. 2010) 18 (“Adverse findings do not equate to bias.”). 19 In accordance with the provisions of

(b)(1), this Court has conducted a de 20 novo review of the case. Having carefully reviewed the file, the Court concludes that the findings 21 and recommendations are supported by the record and by proper analysis. 22 /// 23 /// 24 ///

25 1 While sections 3084.5 and 3084.9 were repealed on June 1, 2020, they were operative during the time of defendant’s alleged actions, in 2017 and 2018. See “Amended Notice of Approval of 26 Emergency Regulatory Action”, State of California Office of Administrative Law (“This 27 emergency regulatory action became effective on June 1, 2020”), www.cdcr.ca.gov/regulations/wp-content/uploads/sites/171/2020/04/Master-File-Appeals-Emerg- 28 Regs_ADA.pdf. 1 Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that: 2 1. The findings and recommendations issued August 19, 2024, Doc. 118, are ADOPTED 3 IN FULL; 4 2. Defendant A. Lucas’s motion for summary judgment, Doc. 99, is GRANTED; 5 3. The Clerk of Court is directed to enter judgment for defendant A. Lucas; and 6 4. The Clerk of Court is directed to CLOSE this case. 4 8 g | SO ORDERED. _ 10 Dated: _ March 24, 2025 4h UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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