Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_16-cv-01103/USCOURTS-caed-2_16-cv-01103-3/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

THOMAS JOSEPH MELGER,

Plaintiff,

v.

DANIEL WESP, Deputy District Attorney,

Defendant.

No. 2:16-cv-1103 KJN P

ORDER

Plaintiff is a state prisoner, proceeding without counsel. Plaintiff consented to proceed 

before the undersigned for all purposes. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). On May 23, 2016, plaintiff filed 

a civil rights complaint claiming that plaintiff was denied the right to a fair trial due to the 

criminal charges levied by defendant Wesp. Plaintiff alleges that he was charged with a lesser 

offense, and that had he been charged with a greater offense, he would have suffered a lesser 

penalty than he sustained. (ECF No. 1.) 

On June 30, 2016, plaintiff filed a request for “temporary injunction,” and a “motion to 

arrest in judgment and motion to withdraw plea.” (ECF No. 18, 20.) These filings were signed 

by plaintiff on June 26, 2016, before he received the court’s June 27, 2016 order. Plaintiff’s 

recent motions pertain to plaintiff’s underlying criminal conviction. Plaintiff is advised that this 

court does not have jurisdiction to “temporarily suspend the official powers of Deputy District 

Case 2:16-cv-01103-KJN Document 22 Filed 07/05/16 Page 1 of 2
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Attorney Daniel Wesp.” (ECF No. 18.) Similarly, this court has no jurisdiction in this action to 

allow plaintiff to withdraw his plea from a state criminal proceeding. Plaintiff filed the instant 

action as a civil rights case under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which involves challenges to the conditions 

of a prisoner’s confinement. As the court previously explained, if plaintiff wishes to challenge 

the fact or duration of his confinement in state prison, he must seek relief through a petition for 

writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. (ECF No. 16 at 3.) Because this court lacks 

jurisdiction over plaintiff’s recent motions, his motions are denied. 

Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s motions (ECF Nos. 18, 20) are 

denied. 

Dated: July 5, 2016

/melg1103.den2

Case 2:16-cv-01103-KJN Document 22 Filed 07/05/16 Page 2 of 2