1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ROBERT SMYTHE, Case No. 1:25-cv-01624-BAM (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DIRECTING CLERK OF COURT TO RANDOMLY ASSIGN DISTRICT JUDGE TO 13 v. ACTION 14 BAILEY, et al., FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT PLAINTIFF’S MOTIONS FOR LEAVE 15 Defendants. TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS BE DENIED 16 (ECF Nos. 2, 10) 17 FOURTEEN (14) DAY DEADLINE 18 19 Plaintiff Robert Smythe (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se in this civil 20 rights action pursuant to

. Plaintiff initiated this action on November 24, 2025, 21 by filing an unsigned complaint. (See ECF No. 1.) Plaintiff also filed an application to proceed in 22 forma pauperis, which included a certified copy of his trust account statement. (ECF No. 2.) 23 On November 25, 2025, the Court issued an order striking Plaintiff’s complaint as 24 unsigned and requiring Plaintiff to file a signed complaint or a notice of voluntary dismissal 25 within thirty (30) days. (ECF No. 5.) 26 On December 10, 2025, Plaintiff responded to the Court’s order by filing a copy of the 27 final page of his complaint, including his signature. (ECF No. 7.) 28 On December 11, 2025, the Court extended the deadline for Plaintiff to file a complete 1 and signed complaint an additional thirty (30) days. (ECF No. 8.) 2 On December 22, 2025, Plaintiff filed a signed complaint. (ECF No. 9.) Plaintiff also 3 filed a second motion to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to

, which appears 4 duplicative of his initial motion. (ECF No. 10.) 5 Examination of Plaintiff’s motions and trust account statement reveals that Plaintiff is able 6 to afford the costs of this action. Specifically, Plaintiff’s available balance in his inmate trust 7 account is $35,250.71. (ECF No. 2 at 5.) In addition, the average monthly deposit to his account 8 was $2,618.25. (Id. at 3.) 9 Accordingly, the Court HEREBY DIRECTS the Clerk of the Court to randomly assign a 10 District Judge to this action. Further, is it HEREBY RECOMMENDED that: 11 1. The motions to proceed in forma pauperis, (ECF Nos. 2, 10), be DENIED; and 12 2. Plaintiff be ORDERED to pay the $405.00 initial filing fee in full to proceed with this 13 action. 14 These Findings and Recommendations will be submitted to the United States District 15 Judge assigned to the case, pursuant to the provisions of Title

(b)(1). Within 16 fourteen (14) days after being served with these Findings and Recommendations, the parties may 17 file written objections with the court. The document should be captioned “Objections to 18 Magistrate Judge’s Findings and Recommendations.” Objections, if any, shall not exceed 19 fifteen (15) pages or include exhibits. Exhibits may be referenced by document and page 20 number if already in the record before the Court. Any pages filed in excess of the 15-page 21 limit may not be considered. The parties are advised that failure to file objections within the 22 specified time may result in the waiver of the “right to challenge the magistrate’s factual 23 findings” on appeal. Wilkerson v. Wheeler,

, 838–39 (9th Cir. 2014) (citing Baxter 24 v. Sullivan,

(9th Cir. 1991)). IT IS SO ORDERED. 25

26 Dated: December 29, 2025 /s/ Barbara A. McAuliffe _ UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 27

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