United States District Court, N.D. California, Eureka Division
ORDER OF SERVICE
NANDOR
J. VADAS United States Magistrate Judge
Plaintiff,
a state prisoner, has filed a pro se civil rights complaint
under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The court dismissed the original
complaint with leave to amend on July 11, 2016. (Doc. 7.)
Plaintiff filed an amended complaint on July 21, 2016. (Doc.
8.)
DISCUSSION
Standard
of Review
Federal
courts must engage in a preliminary screening of cases in
which prisoners seek redress from a governmental entity or
officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915A(a). In its review the court must identify any
cognizable claims, and dismiss any claims which are
frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim upon which relief
may be granted, or seek monetary relief from a defendant who
is immune from such relief. Id. at 1915A(b)(1), (2).
Pro se pleadings must be liberally construed. Balistreri
v. Pacifica Police Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th
Cir. 1990).
Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires only “a short
and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is
entitled to relief.” “Specific facts are not
necessary; the statement need only “‘give the
defendant fair notice of what the . . . . claim is and the
grounds upon which it rests.’””
Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93 (2007)
(citations omitted). Although in order to state a claim a
complaint “does not need detailed factual allegations,
. . . a plaintiff's obligation to provide the
‘grounds’ of his ‘entitle[ment] to
relief’ requires more than labels and conclusions, and
a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action
will not do. . . . Factual allegations must be enough to
raise a right to relief above the speculative level.”
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555
(2007) (citations omitted). A complaint must proffer
“enough facts to state a claim to relief that is
plausible on its face.” Id. at 570. The United
States Supreme Court has recently explained the
“plausible on its face” standard of
Twombly: “While legal conclusions can provide
the framework of a complaint, they must be supported by
factual allegations. When there are well-pleaded factual
allegations, a court should assume their veracity and then
determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement
to relief.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662,
679 (2009).
To
state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must
allege two essential elements: (1) that a right secured by
the Constitution or laws of the United States was violated,
and (2) that the alleged deprivation was committed by a
person acting under the color of state law. West v.
Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988).
Legal
Claims
Plaintiff,
a male, presents an equal protection violation based on the
differing treatment of women at female institutions.
"The
Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment commands
that no State shall 'deny to any person within its
jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, ' which is
essentially a direction that all persons similarly situated
should be treated alike." City of Cleburne v.
Cleburne Living Center, 473 U.S. 432, 439 (1985)
(quoting Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202, 216 (1982));
Thornton v. City of St. Helens, 425 F.3d 1158, 1168
(9th Cir. 2005) (evidence of different treatment of unlike
groups does not support an equal protection claim).
Classifications such as those based on gender, are
“subject to somewhat heightened review” and
“will survive equal protection scrutiny to the extent
they are substantially related to a legitimate state
interest.” Id. at 441.
Plaintiff
argues that he is denied certain clothing, foods, drinks,
objects, and appliances from vendors that female inmates with
a similar classification status at other prisons can
purchase. He contends that the denial of certain items from
similarly situated individuals is unconstitutional. This is
sufficient to proceed at the screening stage. See
Gonzalez v. Mullen, 2013 WL 1333560 (N.D. Cal. March 29,
2013)
CONCLUSION
1. The
clerk shall issue a summons and Magistrate Judge jurisdiction
consent form and the United States Marshal shall serve,
without prepayment of fees, the summons, Magistrate Judge
jurisdiction consent form, copies of the amended complaint
with attachments and copies of this order on ...