Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_17-cv-00731/USCOURTS-casd-3_17-cv-00731-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 550
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Civil Rights (U.S. defendant)
Cause of Action: 42:1983pr Prisoner Civil Rights

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17CV731-WQH-MDD

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SEDRIC EUGENE JOHNSON,

Plaintiff, 

v.

A. DE LA TRINIDAD, et al.,

Defendant. 

Case No.: 17CV731-WQH-MDD

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S 

MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF 

INVESTIGATOR

[ECF No. 15]

Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, filed this action under 42 

U.S.C. § 1983, claiming excessive force in violation of the Eighth Amendment 

and property damages. (ECF No. 1). On August 31, 2017, Plaintiff filed a 

Motion for Appointment of Courtroom Investigator, requesting that the Court 

appoint an investigator to assist him in preparing evidence. (ECF No. 15). 

Plaintiff contends that he needs the Court to appoint an investigator because 

his status as a prisoner greatly limits his ability to gather documentation for 

and litigate his lawsuit. (Id.)

Title 28, U.S.C. § 1915, authorizes federal courts to permit 

commencement of a suit without prepayment of fees and costs upon a 

showing of indigency and allows indigents who are unable to pay the entire 

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17CV731-WQH-MDD

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filing fee upon filing to pay in installments. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) & (b). 

Section 1915 does not authorize or require federal courts to finance or 

subsidize a civil action or appeal by paying expert fees or other costs. Hadsell 

v. Internal Revenue Service, 107 F.3d 750, 752 (9th Cir. 1997); Dixon v. Ylst, 

990 F.2d 478, 480 (9th Cir. 1993). The expenditure of public funds on behalf 

of an indigent litigant is proper only when authorized by Congress. See

United States v. MacCollom, 426 U.S. 317, 321 (1976); Tedder v. Odel, 890 

F.2d 210, 211 (9th Cir. 1989). Plaintiff has not shown any Congressional 

authority for the Court to pay for an investigator for him in this civil action. 

An incarcerated pro se plaintiff may have great difficulty pursuing his action 

from prison, but that does not mean that the Court can or must fund his 

efforts. He must find a way to prosecute his action within his financial 

means and consistent with his status as a prisoner.

Accordingly, Plaintiff's request for a private investigator is DENIED.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: September 1, 2017

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