Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_05-cv-00178/USCOURTS-cand-4_05-cv-00178-0/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

For the Northern District of California

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

RICKARD DENNIS ANDERSON,

Plaintiff,

 v.

JUDGE SAUNDRA B. ARMSTRONG, et al.,

Defendants.

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No. C 05-0178 SBA (pr)

ORDER DISMISSING

ACTION WITHOUT

PREJUDICE

(Docket nos. 1, 3, 4)

This civil action was filed in this Court on January 12, 2005. The Court notified Plaintiff in

writing that this action was deficient due to the failure to pay the requisite filing fee or, instead, submit a

signed and completed court-approved in forma pauperis (IFP) application, to include a signed

certificate of funds and a prison trust account statement for the previous six months. Plaintiff was

advised that failure to pay the filing fee or file the requisite documents would result in dismissal of this

action. In response, Plaintiff filed two IFP applications (Docket nos. 3, 4); both applications failed,

however, to include a signed certificate of funds or a copy of the prisoner's trust account statement for

the last six months. 

Plaintiff has named the undersigned judge as one of the defendants in this action. 28 U.S.C. §

455 requires a judge to disqualify herself in any proceeding in which her impartiality might reasonably be

questioned. See 28 U.S.C. § 455(a). As a federal judge is presumed to be impartial, a substantial

burden is imposed on the party claiming bias or prejudice to show that this is not the case. See United

States v. Zagari, 419 F. Supp. 494, 506 n.30 (N.D. Cal. 1976). In the instant case, Plaintiff has not

sought to have the undersigned judge disqualified from this action. Furthermore, there does not exist a

good faith basis for seeking recusal or disqualification of the undersigned judge. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 144

and 455. The only contact Plaintiff has had with the undersigned judge is through her written orders in

his cases. Judicial rulings, however, almost never constitute a valid basis for a recusal motion. See

Liteky v. United States, 510 U.S. 540, 555 (1994). Recusal is required only if the alleged judicial bias

Case 4:05-cv-00178-SBA Document 5 Filed 04/26/05 Page 1 of 2
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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or prejudice stems from an extrajudicial source, and not from conduct or rulings made during the course

of the proceedings. See Toth v. TWA, Inc., 862 F.2d 1381, 1387-88 (9th Cir. 1988). Absent any

alleged judicial bias or prejudice stemming from an extrajudicial source, the fact that the undersigned

judge is named as one of the defendants does not mandate recusal in the instant case. 

Accordingly, the IFP applications are therefore DENIED and the action is DISMISSED

without prejudice. All pending motions are TERMINATED. The Clerk of the Court shall close the file.

IT IS SO ORDERED AND ADJUDGED.

DATED: April 25, 2005

s/Saundra Brown Armstrong

SAUNDRA BROWN ARMSTRONG

United States District Judge

Case 4:05-cv-00178-SBA Document 5 Filed 04/26/05 Page 2 of 2