Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_23-cv-02844/USCOURTS-caed-2_23-cv-02844-0/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 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

TIMOTHY PAUL LUCERO,

Petitioner,

v.

STATE OF CALIFORNIA,

Respondent.

No. 2:23-cv-2844 KJN P

ORDER

Petitioner, a county prisoner proceeding without counsel, filed this petition for writ of 

habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Petitioner did not file an application to proceed in 

forma pauperis. 

In the petition, petitioner alleges that officials at the Sacramento County Jail denied his 

requests for religious meals and a Quran in violation of the First Amendment. Claims 

challenging conditions of confinement should be raised in a civil rights action. See Wolff v. 

McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 554 (1974). The undersigned construes this action as a civil rights 

action because the claims raised in the petition challenge conditions of confinement. 

Accordingly, the petition is dismissed with leave to file a complaint. 

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Case 2:23-cv-02844-KJM-KJN Document 3 Filed 12/21/23 Page 1 of 2
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As stated above, petitioner has not filed an in forma pauperis affidavit or paid the required 

filing fee for a civil rights action of $350.00 plus the $55.00 administrative fee.1 See 28 U.S.C. 

§§ 1914(a), 1915(a). Petitioner is provided the opportunity either to submit the appropriate 

affidavit in support of a request to proceed in forma pauperis or to submit the required fees 

totaling $405.00.

Petitioner is cautioned that the in forma pauperis application form includes a section that 

must be completed by a jail official, and the form must be accompanied by a certified copy of 

petitioner’s jail trust account statement for the six-month period immediately preceding the filing 

of this action.

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

1. This action is construed as a civil rights action;

2. The petition is dismissed with thirty days leave to file a civil rights complaint; 

3. Petitioner shall submit, within thirty days from the date of this order, an affidavit in 

support of his request to proceed in forma pauperis on the form provided by the Clerk 

of Court, or the required fees in the amount of $405.00; 

4. The Clerk of the Court is directed to send petitioner an Application to Proceed In 

Forma Pauperis By a Prisoner and a form for a civil rights complaint; and

5. Failure to comply with this order will result in a recommendation of dismissal of this 

action. 

Dated: December 21, 2023

Luc2844.ord

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 If leave to file in forma pauperis is granted, petitioner will still be required to pay the filing fee 

but will be allowed to pay it in installments. Litigants proceeding in forma pauperis are not 

required to pay the $55.00 administrative fee.

Case 2:23-cv-02844-KJM-KJN Document 3 Filed 12/21/23 Page 2 of 2