Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_10-cv-00537/USCOURTS-azd-2_10-cv-00537-0/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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 “Doc.#” refers to the docket number of filings in this case.

JDDL

WO SC

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Willis Clyde Thomas, 

Plaintiff, 

vs.

Courtroom Deputy for Judge Ronan, 

Defendant. 

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No. CV 10-0537-PHX-RCB (ECV)

ORDER

Plaintiff Willis Clyde Thomas, who is confined in the Arizona State Prison ComplexEast Unit, in Florence, Arizona, filed a pro se civil rights Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C.

§ 1983. (Doc.# 1.)1

 In an Order filed on March 31, 2010, the Court denied Plaintiff’s

Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis and gave him 30 days in which to either pay the

$350.00 civil action filing fee or file a proper Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis.

(Doc.# 14.) Plaintiff has again filed an incomplete Application to Proceed In Forma

Pauperis. (Doc.# 17.) Plaintiff has also submitted several notices and letters to the Court.

(Doc.# 8-13, 15, 19.) Most recently, Plaintiff has filed a motion for relief. (Doc.# 20.) The

Court will give Plaintiff an additional 30 days to pay the fee or file a completed Application

to Proceed In Forma Pauperis. The Court will deny Plaintiff’s notices and letters to the

extent that any relief is sought therein and deny his motion for relief. 

I. Payment of Filing Fee

When bringing an action, a prisoner must either pay the $350.00 filing fee in a lump

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sum or, if granted the privilege of proceeding in forma pauperis, pay the fee incrementally

as set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). An application to proceed in forma pauperis requires

an affidavit of indigence and a certified copy of the inmate’s trust account statement for the

six months preceding the filing of the Complaint. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2). An inmate must

submit statements from each institution where he was confined during the six-month period.

Id. To assist prisoners in meeting these requirements, the Court requires use of a form

application. LRCiv 3.4(a).

If a prisoner is granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis, the Court will assess an

initial partial filing fee of 20% of either the average monthly deposits or the average monthly

balance in Plaintiff’s account, whichever is greater. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). An initial

partial filing fee will only be collected when funds exist. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(4). The

balance of the fee will be collected in monthly payments of 20% of the preceding month’s

income credited to an inmate’s account, each time the amount in the account exceeds $10.00.

28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). 

II. Application Fails to Comply With Statute

Plaintiff has filed another application seeking leave to proceed in forma pauperis.

(Doc.# 17.) However, Plaintiff has only completed and submitted the first page of the courtapproved form and the certified six month trust account statement. (Doc.# 17, 18.)

Therefore, his in forma pauperis application will be denied as incomplete. 

Plaintiff must file a properly completed and complete Application to Proceed In

Forma Pauperis (Non-Habeas). He must complete the “Consent to Collection of Fees from

Trust Account” section. That is, this part of the in forma pauperis application must be filled

out, signed, and dated. The “Certificate of Correctional Official as to Status of Applicant’s

Trust Account” section also must completed. Plaintiff will be permitted an additional 30

days to either pay the $350.00 filing fee or file a properly completed and complete

Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Non-Habeas).

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2

 According to records available on-line, Plaintiff’s probation was revoked in

Maricopa County Superior Court on February 9, 2010, based on Plaintiff’s admission that

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III. Motion for Relief

As noted above, Plaintiff has filed a motion for relief. In the motion, Plaintiff seeks

relief as to his conviction pursuant to a plea agreement and/or revocation of probation.

(Doc.# 20.) Plaintiff asserts that his guilty plea and/or admission of a probation violation

were coerced. 

This case was opened as a prisoner civil rights case under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Under

§ 1983, a plaintiff may seek relief for federal constitutional violations by officials acting

under color of state law. In his motion for relief, however, Plaintiff seeks relief from his

state court conviction and/or probation violation. To seek from a state court conviction or

probation violation in this Court, which is a federal court, Plaintiff must file a petition for a

writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 as a new case. Federal habeas relief under 28

U.S.C. § 2254 is the “exclusive vehicle” for a state prisoner to seek relief from a state

conviction in federal court. See White v. Lambert, 370 F.3d 1002, 1009-10 (9th Cir. 2004).

Plaintiff may not obtain federal habeas relief in this § 1983 case. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s

motion for relief will be denied. 

IV. Miscellaneous Notices and Letters

As noted above, Plaintiff has submitted numerous notices and letters to the Court.

These filings appear to primarily concern the alleged actions of Maricopa County Sheriff’s

Deputy McLemore in February 2009, and Detention Officer Hartaleno. (Doc.# 8-12, 15, 16,

19.) Plaintiff indicates that McLemore threatened to shoot him after Plaintiff asked to use

the restroom while he was at Maricopa County Superior Court in Mesa and that Hartaleno

pushed Plaintiff’s wheelchair into a door at the jail. (Id..) Plaintiff otherwise seeks the status

of his state Rule 32 proceedings. (Doc.# 13, 16.) 

To learn the status of his state Rule 32 proceedings, Plaintiff must contact the state

court, which is Maricopa County Superior Court.2

 To the extent that Plaintiff wishes to name

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he violated the terms of probation. See http://www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov/docs/

Criminal/022010/m4087824.pdf (Minute Order, Case# CR2008-15260). According to the

minute entry, Plaintiff was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. Id.

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anyone as a defendant in this case, he may file an amended complaint naming those persons.

To file an amended complaint, Plaintiff must use the court-approved form complaint and

follow the instructions for completing that form. To the extent that Plaintiff seeks any relief

in his notices and letters, those filings will be denied. 

IV. Warnings

A. Address Changes

Plaintiff must file and serve a notice of a change of address in accordance with Rule

83.3(d) of the Local Rules of Civil Procedure. Plaintiff must not include a motion for other

relief with a notice of change of address. Failure to comply may result in dismissal of this

action.

B. Copies

Plaintiff must submit an additional copy of every filing for use by the Court. See

LRCiv 5.4. Failure to comply may result in the filing being stricken without further notice

to Plaintiff.

C. Possible Dismissal

If Plaintiff fails to timely comply with every provision of this Order, including these

warnings, the Court may dismiss this action without further notice. See Ferdik v. Bonzelet,

963 F.2d 1258, 1260-61 (9th Cir. 1992) (a district court may dismiss an action for failure to

comply with any order of the Court).

IT IS ORDERED:

(1) Plaintiff’s Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis is denied without

prejudice. (Doc.# 17.)

(2) Within 30 days of the date this Order is filed, Plaintiff must either pay the

$350.00 filing fee or file a completed Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis. 

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(3) If Plaintiff fails to either pay the $350.00 filing fee or file a completed

Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis within 30 days, the Clerk of Court must enter a

judgment of dismissal of this action without prejudice and without further notice to Plaintiff.

(4) The Clerk of the Court must mail Plaintiff a court-approved form for filing an

Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Non-Habeas).

(5) Plaintiff’s notices and letters are denied to the extent that any relief is sought

therein. (Doc.# 8-13, 15, 19.)

(6) Plaintiff’s motion for relief is denied. (Doc.# 20.)

DATED this 30th day of April, 2010.

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