Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_23-cv-00618/USCOURTS-caed-2_23-cv-00618-8/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 

JAMES KERN, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

JIM COOPER, et al., 

Defendants. 

No. 2:23-cv-0618 AC P 

ORDER 

 Plaintiff is a former county and current state prisoner proceeding pro se with a civil rights 

action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. By order filed November 8, 2023, the court screened the 

complaint and found that plaintiff had stated claims for relief against Does 1-3. ECF No. 12. The 

undersigned later granted plaintiff’s request for a subpoena form and service by the United States 

Marshal after plaintiff submitted evidence that the jail was refusing to provide him with the 

information regarding defendants’ identities without a subpoena. ECF No. 16. Plaintiff 

proceeded to return the subpoena form but it was not properly completed. As a result, plaintiff 

was given another opportunity to submit a completed subpoena form and advised on what 

information the form needed to include. ECF No. 22. 

 Plaintiff was advised that 

the subpoena must identify the person from whom he is seeking to 

compel documents and the address at which they can be served. 

Furthermore, in the “Place” and “Date and Time” sections of the 

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subpoena, plaintiff should identify where the documents responsive 

to the request should be sent and the date by which a response is due. 

Plaintiff is advised that any deadline for responding to the subpoena 

must be reasonable (e.g., thirty days from service of the subpoena). 

The subpoena should also specify that plaintiff is seeking 

documentation identifying the defendants, along with any 

information he has regarding the defendants’ identities. This 

information can be provided as an attachment to the subpoena. 

Id. at 2 (footnotes omitted). 

Plaintiff has once again returned a subpoena form but has failed to follow the court’s 

instructions on how to complete the form. ECF No. 23. Although plaintiff has followed most of 

the instructions provided by the court, instead of providing information related to identifying the 

defendants, he summarized the conditions he was subjected to and provided names of officers 

who were aware of his situation. 

Plaintiff will be given one final chance to complete and return a subpoena form. He 

should follow all previous instructions provided regarding how to fill out a subpoena. With 

respect to identifying the defendants, he should state that he is seeking documentation to identify 

the defendants and then list each Doe defendant separately (e.g., Doe 1, Doe 2, Doe 3), followed 

by information that will allow the jail to identify them, such as a physical description of each 

individual and the date, time, and location where they were working. If plaintiff fails to return a 

properly completed form and does not move to substitute in named defendants, the undersigned 

will recommend that this action be dismissed without prejudice for failure to complete service. 

See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m). 

 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 

1. The Clerk of the Court is directed to provide plaintiff with a signed but otherwise 

blank Subpoena to Produce Documents, Information, or Objects or to Permit Inspection of 

Premises in a Civil Action; and 

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2. Within twenty-one days from the service of this order, plaintiff shall complete the 

attached Notice of Submission of Documents and submit it to the court with the completed 

subpoena. 

DATED: April 2, 2024 

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

JAMES KERN, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

JIM COOPER, et al., 

Defendants. 

No. 2:23-cv-0618 AC P 

 

NOTICE OF SUBMISSION OF 

DOCUMENTS 

 Plaintiff submits the following document in compliance with the court’s order filed 

_____________________: 

 1 completed Subpoena to Produce Documents, Information, or Objects or to 

Permit Inspection of Premises in a Civil Action 

DATED: 

 ________________________________ 

 Plaintiff 

 

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