Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_05-cv-00545/USCOURTS-caed-1_05-cv-00545-1/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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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

JESUS ALVAREZ-MEJIA,

Plaintiff, CV F 05 0545 LJO WMW P

vs. ORDER DISMISSING 

 COMPLAINT WITH

LEAVE TO AMEND.

 AMENDED COMPLAINT DUE IN 

 THIRTY DAYS

JOHN DOE, et al.,

Defendants.

Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se. Plaintiff seeks

relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This proceeding was referred to this

court by Local Rule 72-302 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1).

This action proceeds on the original complaint. Plaintiff, an

inmate in the custody of the California Department of Corrections at High

Desert State Prison, brings this civil rights action against correctional

officials employed by the Department of Corrections at High Desert State

Prison. 

Plaintiff’s sole claim in this complaint is that Plaintiff “was

unjustifiably accused and placed in Administrative Segregation.” Plaintiff

was placed in AdSeg because of his alleged participation in a riot between

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Southern Hispanic and white inmates. Plaintiff contends that there was

insufficient evidence upon which to place him in AdSeg. 

To prevail, Plaintiff must establish that he had a liberty

interest in being free from being placed in the SHU. See Sandin v. Conner,

515 U.S. 472, 487 (1995) (holding that a convicted inmate who had been

placed in disciplinary segregation in a prison's SHU for 30 days had no

cognizable procedural due process claim, because he had no liberty

interest in being free from such confinement); The Ninth Circuit explicitly

has found that administrative segregation falls within the terms of

confinement ordinarily contemplated by a sentence. See May v. Baldwin,

109 F.3d 557, 565 (9th Cir.1997).

Sandin v. Conner, 515 U.S. 472, 484 (1995) holds that a prisoner

has a federal liberty interest in being free from confinement changes that

impose an “atypical and significant hardship ... in relation to the ordinary

incidents if prison life.” The Ninth Circuit interprets Sandin to mean that

confinement in a disciplinary segregation unit for non-punitive reason

does not implicate a liberty interest because such segregation falls within

the terms of confinement ordinarily contemplated by a prison sentence,

May v. Baldwin, 109 F.3d 557, 565 (9 Cir. 1997), while placement in a

th

security housing unit (SHU) for disciplinary reasons implicates federal

liberty interests if conditions in the SHU materially differ from conditions

faced by inmates in purely discretionary segregation, such as

administrative segregation or protective custody, or if SHU conditions, as

compared with conditions in the general population, create a “major

disruption” in the prisoner’s environment. Resnick v. Hayes, 200 F.3d 641,

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646 (9 Cir. 2000). If plaintiff was not deprived of time credits as a result th

of the disciplinary hearing in question, the due process deprivation claim

is deficient because the complaint does not include any facts that explain

why the actions of any defendant caused plaintiff to be subjected to

atypical and significant hardships, as compared to those hardships faced

by other inmates. The complaint must therefore be dismissed. Plaintiff

will, however, be granted leave to file an amended complaint.

If plaintiff chooses to amend the complaint, plaintiff must

demonstrate how the conditions complained of have resulted in a

deprivation of plaintiff's constitutional rights. See Ellis v. Cassidy, 625

F.2d 227 (9th Cir. 1980). Also, the complaint must allege in specific terms

how each named defendant is involved. There can be no liability under 42

U.S.C. § 1983 unless there is some affirmative link or connection between a

defendant's actions and the claimed deprivation. Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S.

362 (1976); May v. Enomoto, 633 F.2d 164, 167 (9th Cir. 1980); Johnson v.

Duffy, 588 F.2d 740, 743 (9th Cir. 1978). 

In addition, plaintiff is informed that the court cannot refer to

a prior pleading in order to make plaintiff's amended complaint complete. 

Local Rule 15-220 requires that an amended complaint be complete in

itself without reference to any prior pleading. This is because, as a 

general rule, an amended complaint supersedes the original complaint. 

See Loux v. Rhay, 375 F.2d 55, 57 (9th Cir. 1967). Once plaintiff files an

amended complaint, the original pleading no longer serves any function in

the case. Therefore, in an amended complaint, as in an original complaint,

each claim and the involvement of each defendant must be sufficiently

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alleged. 

In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. Plaintiff's complaint is dismissed; and

2. Plaintiff is granted thirty days from the date of service of

this order to file a first amended complaint that complies with the

requirements of the Civil Rights Act, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,

and the Local Rules of Practice; the amended complaint must bear the

docket number assigned this case and must be labeled "First Amended

Complaint." Failure to file an amended complaint in accordance with this

order will result in a recommendation that this action be dismissed.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: June 5, 2007 /s/ William M. Wunderlich 

j14hj0 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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