Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_17-cv-00339/USCOURTS-caed-2_17-cv-00339-0/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

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

JERRY CLOUD,

Petitioner,

v.

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF 

CORRECTIONS,

Respondent.

Case No.16-cv-06100-JSC 

ORDER DIRECTING PETITIONER TO: 

(1) CONSENT TO CONVERTING HIS 

PETITION TO A CIVIL RIGHTS 

COMPLAINT, (2) WITHDRAW 

PETITION, OR (3) AMEND PETITION

Petitioner, a prisoner at the California Correction Center (“CCC”) in Susanville, 

California, filed this pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254 

challenging the conditions of his confinement at the CCC.1 For the reasons discussed below, 

Petitioner is ordered either to consent to converting the petition to a civil rights complaint under 

42 U.S.C. § 1983, to withdraw the petition, or to amend it so that it states a cognizable claim for 

federal habeas relief.

Petitioner claims that prison officials have failed to provide adequate medical care for his 

foot. “‘Federal law opens two main avenues to relief on complaints related to imprisonment: a 

petition for habeas corpus, 28 U.S.C. § 2254, and a complaint under the Civil Rights Act of 1871, 

Rev. Stat. § 1979, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Challenges to the lawfulness of confinement or 

to particulars affecting its duration are the province of habeas corpus.’” Hill v. McDonough, 547 

 

1

Petitioner consented to the jurisdiction of a United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 

§ 636(c). (ECF No. 5.) 

Case 2:17-cv-00339-KJM-EFB Document 8 Filed 12/02/16 Page 1 of 5
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United States District Court

Northern District of California

U.S. 573, 579 (2006) (quoting Muhammad v. Close, 540 U.S. 749, 750 (2004)). “An inmate’s 

challenge to the circumstances of his confinement, however, may be brought under § 1983.” Id.

A Section 1983 action is the exclusive remedy for claims by state prisoners that do not “lie 

at the ‘core of habeas corpus.’” Nettles v. Grounds, 830 F.3d 922, 936 (9th Cir. 2016) (en banc). 

A district court may construe a habeas petition by a prisoner attacking the conditions of his 

confinement as a civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Wilwording v. Swenson, 404 U.S. 

249, 251 (1971). A district court must advise the prisoner of the consequences of construing a 

habeas petition as a civil rights claim and provide an opportunity to withdraw or amend the 

petition. Nettles, 830 F.3d at 936. 

As Petitioner asserts claims challenging the conditions of his confinement, and success on 

such claims would not result in speedier release from confinement, his claims do not fall within 

the “core of habeas corpus” within the meaning of Nettles. Accordingly, his claims must be 

brought in a civil rights complaint under Section 1983, not in a petition for a writ of habeas 

corpus. Before construing the petition as a civil rights complaint, Petitioner is warned of the 

following important consequences of proceeding with this case as a civil rights action under 

Section 1983 instead of as a federal habeas petition:

(1) 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) provides that a prisoner may not bring a civil action or appeal a 

judgment in a civil action or proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 1915 (i.e., may not proceed in forma 

pauperis) "if the prisoner has, on 3 or more prior occasions, while incarcerated or detained in any 

facility, brought an action or appeal in a court of the United States that was dismissed on the 

grounds that it is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, 

unless the prisoner is under imminent danger of serious physical injury;" 

(2) 42 U.S.C. § 1997e provides that “[n]o action shall be brought with respect to prison 

conditions under [] Federal law, by a prisoner confined in any jail, prison, or other correctional 

facility until such administrative remedies as are available are exhausted;” 

//

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Case 2:17-cv-00339-KJM-EFB Document 8 Filed 12/02/16 Page 2 of 5
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United States District Court

Northern District of California

(3) if Petitioner is granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis, he will still be required to 

pay the full amount of the filing fee of $350.00 by way of an "installment plan" that operates as 

follows: (1) first, the court will assess and collect a partial filing fee from the prisoner;2(2) after 

payment of the initial partial filing fee, the prisoner will be required to make monthly payments of 

20% of the preceding month's income credited to the prisoner's account. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1);

(4) the proper defendant in a civil rights action is not simply the prison official with 

custody over Petitioner (as in a federal habeas petition), but rather is any and all prison officials 

whose actions or omissions caused the violation of Petitioner’s federal rights .

Petitioner is further cautioned that if he proceeds with this action as a civil rights action, 

the case will be transferred to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California 

because Petitioner, the prison officials who would be the proper defendants, and the events giving 

rise to Petitioner’s claim are all at CCC, which lies within the venue of the Eastern District.

Accordingly, and pursuant to Nettles, Petitioner now has three choices:

(1) Petitioner may file a notice that he is withdrawing the instant petition. If he chooses 

this option, the petition will be dismissed without prejudice to his filing his claims in a civil rights 

complaint in new action. 

(2) Petitioner may file an amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus in which he asserts 

claims challenging his conviction or sentence. The amendment must be on the Court’s form for 

prisoner Section 2254 petitions and must include the caption and civil case number (No. C 16-

6100 JSC (PR)) used in this order and the words AMENDED PETITION on the first page. 

(3) Petitioner may file a notice that he wishes to have the instant petition construed as a 

civil rights complaint under Section 1983. Prior to the electing this option, Petitioner is cautioned 

to read and review the differences between a civil rights action and a federal habeas action

described above. 

//

 

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The amount of the partial filing fee is equal to 20% of the greater of (a) the average monthly 

deposits to the prisoner's account for the last six months, or (b) the average monthly balance in the 

prisoner's account for the last six months. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1).

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United States District Court

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Petitioner shall take one of these three courses of action within 28 days of the date this 

order is filed. If he fails to do so, this case will be dismissed without prejudice. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: December 2, 2016

JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY

United States Magistrate Judge

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

JERRY CLOUD,

Plaintiff,

v.

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF 

CORRECTIONS,

Defendant.

Case No. 16-cv-06100-JSC 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, the undersigned, hereby certify that I am an employee in the Office of the Clerk, U.S. 

District Court, Northern District of California.

That on December 2, 2016, I SERVED a true and correct copy(ies) of the attached, by 

placing said copy(ies) in a postage paid envelope addressed to the person(s) hereinafter listed, by 

depositing said envelope in the U.S. Mail, or by placing said copy(ies) into an inter-office delivery 

receptacle located in the Clerk's office.

Jerry Cloud ID: AX8657

California Correction Center

P.O. Box 2400

B yard

Susanville, CA 96127-2400 

Dated: December 2, 2016

Susan Y. Soong

Clerk, United States District Court

By:________________________

Ada Means, Deputy Clerk to the 

Honorable JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY

Case 2:17-cv-00339-KJM-EFB Document 8 Filed 12/02/16 Page 5 of 5