Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_06-cv-00185/USCOURTS-cand-3_06-cv-00185-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
William Leonard Pickard
Plaintiff
United States Department of Justice
Defendant

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

WILLIAM LEONARD PICKARD, 

Plaintiff(s),

 v.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT

OF JUSTICE,

Defendant(s). 

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No. C 06-0185 CRB (PR)

ORDER

(Docs # 6, 8, 9, 10 & 12)

Plaintiff, a federal prisoner at the United States Penitentiary in Adelanto,

California, has filed a pro se action under the Freedom of Information Act , 5

U.S.C. § 552 ("FOIA"), seeking agency records relating to Gordon Todd Skinner,

a former San Francisco DEA and FBI informant allegedly "deactivated for

cause." In his First Amended Complaint ("FAC"), plaintiff alleges that he has

unsuccessfully sought specific information relating to Skinner from the DEA and

FBI, and that he has now exhausted administrative remedies. Plaintiff seeks an

order requiring the United States Department of Justice to release the requested

records and waive all fees for production of the documents. Plaintiff also seeks

appointment of counsel under 28 U.S.C. § 1915.

Case 3:06-cv-00185-CRB Document 14 Filed 06/02/06 Page 1 of 4
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Plaintiff has paid the requisite filing fee and served the FAC on defendant. 

Defendant in turn has filed an answer. The court must nonetheless screen the

complaint and identify cognizable claims or dismiss the complaint, or any portion

of the complaint, if the complaint "is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim

upon which relief may be granted," or "seeks monetary relief from a defendant

who is immune from such relief." 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b). 

FOIA obligates the government to produce documents within its

possession or control. Kissinger v. Reporters Comm. for Freedom of the Press,

445 U.S. 136, 150-51 (1980). An agency may withhold a requested document

only if it falls within one of several statutory exemptions to the disclosure

requirement. Dobronski v. FCC, 17 F.3d 275, 277 (9th Cir. 1994) (citing 5

U.S.C. § 552(b)). The burden is on the agency to prove that a particular

document falls within one of the exemptions. Id. If the agency claims that it

does not possess or control a requested document, it must show it fully

discharged its statutory obligations by conducting a search reasonably calculated

to uncover all relevant documents. See Urban v. United States, 72 F.3d 94, 95

(8th Cir. 1995); Weisberg v. United States Dep't of Justice, 705 F.2d 1344, 1351

(D.C. Cir. 1983).

Liberally construed, plaintiff's allegations appear to state a minimally

cognizable FOIA claim and should proceed. See Balistreri v. Pacifica Police

Dep't, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1990) (pro se pleadings must be liberally

construed). However, his request for appointment of counsel (see docs # 6, 8, 9

& 10) is DENIED for lack of exceptional circumstances. See Wilborn v.

Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir. 1986). And his request for an order

requiring the parties to meet and confer (see doc # 12) is DENIED as premature.

/

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In order to expedite the resolution of this case, the court orders as follows:

a. No later than 90 days from the date of this order, defendant

shall file a motion for summary judgment or other dispositive motion. A motion

for summary judgment shall be supported by adequate factual documentation and

shall conform in all respects to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, and shall

include as exhibits all records and incident reports stemming from the events at

issue. If defendant is of the opinion that this case cannot be resolved by summary

judgment or other dispositive motion, it shall so inform the court prior to the date

its motion is due. All papers filed with the court shall be served promptly on

plaintiff.

b. Plaintiff's opposition to the dispositive motion shall be filed

with the court and served upon defendant no later than 30 days after defendant

serves plaintiff with the motion. 

c. Plaintiff is advised that a motion for summary judgment

under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure will, if granted, end your

case. Rule 56 tells you what you must do in order to oppose a motion for

summary judgment. Generally, summary judgment must be granted when there

is no genuine issue of material fact--that is, if there is no real dispute about any

fact that would affect the result of your case, the party who asked for summary

judgment is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, which will end your case. 

When a party you are suing makes a motion for summary judgment that is

properly supported by declarations (or other sworn testimony), you cannot simply

rely on what your complaint says. Instead, you must set out specific facts in

declarations, depositions, answers to interrogatories, or authenticated documents,

as provided in Rule 56(e), that contradicts the facts shown in the defendant's

declarations and documents and show that there is a genuine issue of material

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fact for trial. If you do not submit your own evidence in opposition, summary

judgment, if appropriate, may be entered against you. If summary judgment is

granted, your case will be dismissed and there will be no trial. Rand v. Rowland,

154 F.3d 952, 962-63 (9th Cir. 1998) (en banc) (App. A).

Plaintiff is also advised that a motion to dismiss for failure to exhaust

administrative remedies under 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a) will, if granted, end your

case, albeit without prejudice. You must “develop a record” and present it in

your opposition in order to dispute any “factual record” presented by the

defendants in their motion to dismiss. Wyatt v. Terhune, 315 F.3d 1108, 1120

n.14 (9th Cir. 2003).

d. Defendant shall file a reply brief within 15 days of the date

on which plaintiff serves it with the opposition. 

e. The motion shall be deemed submitted as of the date the

reply brief is due. No hearing will be held on the motion unless the court so

orders at a later date. 

Discovery may be taken in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure. No further court order is required to conduct discovery.

All communications by plaintiff with the court must be served on

defendant's counsel by mailing a true copy of the document to defendant's

counsel. It is plaintiff's responsibility to prosecute this case. Plaintiff must keep

the court and all parties informed of any change of address and must comply with

the court's orders in a timely fashion. Failure to do so may result in the dismissal

of this action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b).

SO ORDERED.

DATED: June 2, 2006 CHARLES R. BREYER

United States District Judge

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