Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_15-cv-05136/USCOURTS-cand-3_15-cv-05136-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
The Board of Prison Hearings
Defendant
Earnest Cassell Woods
Plaintiff

Document Text:

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

EARNEST CASSELL WOODS,

Plaintiff,

v.

THE BOARD OF PRISON HEARINGS,

Defendant.

Case No. 15-cv-05136-JD 

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

Plaintiff, a state prisoner, has filed a pro se civil rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 

Plaintiff has also filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis. 

The Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“PLRA”), provides that a prisoner may not 

bring a civil action or appeal a civil judgment under 28 U.S.C. § 1915 “if the prisoner has, on three 

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.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). The phrase “fails to state a claim on 

which relief may be granted,” as used in § 1915(g), “parallels the language of Federal Rule of 

Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).” Andrews v. King, 398 F.3d 1113, 1121 (9th Cir. 2005) (internal 

quotation marks omitted). A case is “frivolous” within the meaning of § 1915(g) if “it is of little 

weight or importance: having no basis in law or fact.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). The 

court may count as strikes dismissals of district court cases as well as dismissals of appeals. See 

Rodriguez v. Cook, 169 F.3d 1176, 1178 (9th Cir. 1999) (prisoner does not get three frivolous 

claims and three frivolous appeals before being barred by § 1915(g)). A dismissal under § 

1915(g) means that a prisoner cannot proceed with his action as a pauper under § 1915(g), but he 

Case 3:15-cv-05136-JD Document 9 Filed 01/07/16 Page 1 of 3
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United States District Court

Northern District of California

still may pursue his claim if he pays the full filing fee at the outset of the action.

It appears that plaintiff has at least three strikes pursuant to § 1915(g):

i. Woods v. Carey, No. 05-1157 MJJ (N.D. Cal.), dismissed for failure to state 

a claim.

ii. Woods v. Carey, No. 05-0049 MCE DAD (E.D. Cal.), dismissed for failure 

to state a claim.

iii. Woods v. Curry, No. 10-1859 JSW (N.D. Cal.), dismissed for improper 

joinder of unrelated claims against different defendants.

iv. Woods v. Curry, No. 13-16045 (9th Cir.), in forma pauperis denied because 

appeal was frivolous.

v. Woods v. Marshall, No. 11-8554 UA OP (C.D. Cal.), dismissed for failure 

to state a claim. 

Plaintiff shall show cause within fourteen (14) days, why this case should not be deemed 

three strikes barred and the application to proceed in forma pauperis denied. Failure to reply will 

result in dismissal.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: January 7, 2016

________________________

JAMES DONATO

United States District Judge

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

EARNEST CASSELL WOODS,

Plaintiff,

v.

THE BOARD OF PRISON HEARINGS,

Defendant.

Case No. 15-cv-05136-JD 

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 January 7, 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.

Earnest Cassell Woods

D58091

P.O. Box 901, A4-233

Imperial, CA 94974 

Dated: January 7, 2016

Susan Y. Soong

Clerk, United States District Court

By:________________________

LISA R. CLARK, Deputy Clerk to the 

Honorable JAMES DONATO

Case 3:15-cv-05136-JD Document 9 Filed 01/07/16 Page 3 of 3