Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_12-cv-00126/USCOURTS-caed-1_12-cv-00126-27/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 550
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Civil Rights (U.S. defendant)
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Prisoner Civil Rights

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

HARVEY CURTIS BAKER,

Plaintiff,

v.

S. MOORE,

Defendant.

Case No. 1:12-cv-00126-LJO-SAB (PC)

ORDER REGARDING CONSENT TO 

MAGISTRATE JUDGE JURISDICTION

ORDER DIRECTING CLERK OF COURT 

TO SEND CONSENT FORM TO PARTIES

Plaintiff Harvey Curtis Baker (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se in this 

civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 

This action proceeds against Defendant S. Moore (“Defendant”) for failure to protect. 

On September 16, 2016, the Court filed an order adopting the Magistrate Judge’s findings and 

recommendations and Defendant’s motion for summary judgment was denied. (ECF No. 112.)

The parties have not consented or declined to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction. Now that the 

case is ready to be set for trial, the parties are advised of the following important information 

about scheduling and trailing cases before the undersigned:1

District Court Judges of the Fresno Division of the Eastern District of California now 

 

1 Withholding consent or declining jurisdiction of a Magistrate Judge for all purposes will have no effect on the 

merits of a party’s case or have any adverse substantive consequences. 

Case 1:12-cv-00126-SAB Document 113 Filed 09/21/16 Page 1 of 3
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have the heaviest caseload in the nation. As a result, each District Judge schedules multiple 

trials to begin on every available trial date. The law requires that the court give any criminal 

trials priority over civil trials or any other matter. A civil trial set to begin while a criminal trial 

is proceeding will “trail”, i.e., await the completion of, the criminal trial. 

The Court cannot give advance notice of which cases will trail or for how long because 

the Court does not know which cases actually will go to trial or precisely how long each will last. 

Once your trial date arrives, counsel, parties and witnesses must remain on 24-hour-stand-by 

until a court opens. Since continuance to a date certain would simply postpone, but not solve, 

the problem, continuances of a civil trial will no longer be entertained, absent a specific and 

stated finding of good cause. The Court will use its best efforts to mitigate the effect of the 

foregoing and to resolve all cases in a timely manner.

One alternative is for the parties to consent to a United States Magistrate Judge 

conducting all proceedings, including trial and entry of final judgment, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 

28 U.S.C. 636(c), Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 73, and Local Rule 305. The Eastern District 

Magistrate Judges, all experienced former trial lawyers, use the same jury pool and same court 

facilities as United States District Court Judges. Since Magistrate Judges do not conduct felony 

trials, they have greater flexibility and schedule firm trial dates. Judgment was entered by a 

United States Magistrate Judge is appealable directly to the United States Court of Appeal for the 

Ninth Circuit. 

As another response to its large caseload, the Fresno division of the Eastern District of 

California is assigning cases, whenever possible, to Article III District Court Judges from around 

the nation as Visiting Judges. Pursuant to the Local Rules, Appendix A, such reassignments will 

be random, and the parties will receive no advance notice before their case is reassigned to an 

Article III District Court Judge from outside of the Eastern District of California.

Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. The Clerk’s Office shall send Plaintiff and Defendant the consent/decline form; 

2. Within twenty (20) days from the date of service of this order, the parties may 

return the consent/decline forms to the Court; and

Case 1:12-cv-00126-SAB Document 113 Filed 09/21/16 Page 2 of 3
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3. After the twenty (20) day deadline, if both parties have not consented to 

Magistrate Judge jurisdiction, the matter will be set for jury trial before the 

undersigned. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: September 21, 2016 /s/ Lawrence J. O’Neill _____ 

UNITED STATES CHIEF DISTRICT JUDGE

Case 1:12-cv-00126-SAB Document 113 Filed 09/21/16 Page 3 of 3