Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_19-cv-00307/USCOURTS-caed-2_19-cv-00307-29/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 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SHELDON RAY NEWSOME,

Plaintiff,

v.

M. LOTERZSTAIN, et al.,

Defendants.

Case No. 2:19-cv-00307-DAD-JDP (PC)

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S REQUEST 

FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE

ECF No. 151

Plaintiff has filed a request that asks the court to take judicial notice a medical note from 

the Bakersfield Neuroscience & Spine Institute, two letters from the Prison Law Office, and 

several articles from certain websites, including Wikipedia. ECF No. 151. Defendant opposes 

plaintiff’s request, arguing that the documents are subject to reasonable dispute. ECF No. 152. 

The documents are not properly subject to judicial notice, and so I will deny plaintiff’s motion. 

A court may take judicial notice of a fact that is “not subject to reasonable dispute,” either 

“because it is generally known within the court’s territorial jurisdiction,” or because it “can be 

accurately and readily determined from sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be 

questioned.” Fed. R. Evid. 201(b). The materials provided by plaintiff fail to satisfy this 

standard. See Gerritsen v. Warner Bros. Ent. Inc., 112 F. Supp. 3d 1011, 1028 (C.D. Cal. 2015) 

(“As a general matter, courts are hesitant to take notice of information found on third party 

websites and routinely deny requests for judicial notice, particularly when the credibility of the 

Case 2:19-cv-00307-DAD-JDP Document 153 Filed 12/12/23 Page 1 of 2
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site’s source information is called into question by another party.”); Fregia v. Miranda, No. 2:19-

cv-2196-JAM-KJN (P), 2021 WL 1388387, at *1 (E.D. Cal. Apr. 13, 2021) (declining to take 

judicial notice of the plaintiff’s medical records).

Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that plaintiff’s request for judicial notice, ECF 

No. 151, is denied. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: December 11, 2023 

JEREMY D. PETERSON

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Case 2:19-cv-00307-DAD-JDP Document 153 Filed 12/12/23 Page 2 of 2