United States District Court, E.D. California
THOMAS L. GOFF, Plaintiff,
v.
GAMEZ, et al., Defendants.
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION REQUESTING
PARTIAL COURT TRANSCRIPTS AT GOVERNMENT EXPENSE (ECF NO.
100)
Thomas
Goff (“Plaintiff”) is a former state prisoner
proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in
this civil rights action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §
1983. This action was dismissed for failure to prosecute on
November 8, 2019. (ECF Nos. 89 & 90).
On
January 9, 2020, Plaintiff filed a motion requesting partial
court transcripts at government expense. (ECF No. 100). For
the reasons described below, Plaintiff's motion will be
denied.
I.
LEGAL STANDARD FOR PREPARATION OF A TRANSCRIPT AT THE
GOVERNMENT'S EXPENSE
28
U.S.C. § 1915(c) states that, “[u]pon the filing
of an affidavit in accordance with subsections (a) and (b)
and the prepayment of any partial filing fee as may be
required under subsection (b), the court may direct payment
by the United States of the expenses of (1) printing the
record on appeal in any civil or criminal case, if such
printing is required by the appellate court; (2) preparing a
transcript of proceedings before a United States magistrate
judge in any civil or criminal case, if such transcript is
required by the district court, in the case of proceedings
conducted under section 636(b) of this title or under section
3401(b) of title 18, United States Code; and (3) printing the
record on appeal if such printing is required by the
appellate court, in the case of proceedings conducted
pursuant to section 636(c) of this title. Such expenses shall
be paid when authorized by the Director of the Administrative
Office of the United States Courts.”
Section
1915(a) states:
(1) Subject to subsection (b), any court of the United States
may authorize the commencement, prosecution or defense of any
suit, action or proceeding, civil or criminal, or appeal
therein, without prepayment of fees or security therefor, by
a person who submits an affidavit that includes a statement
of all assets such prisoner possesses that the person is
unable to pay such fees or give security therefor. Such
affidavit shall state the nature of the action, defense or
appeal and affiant's belief that the person is entitled
to redress.
(2) A prisoner seeking to bring a civil action or appeal a
judgment in a civil action or proceeding without prepayment
of fees or security therefor, in addition to filing the
affidavit filed under paragraph (1), shall submit a certified
copy of the trust fund account statement (or institutional
equivalent) for the prisoner for the 6-month period
immediately preceding the filing of the complaint or notice
of appeal, obtained from the appropriate official of each
prison at which the prisoner is or was confined.
Pursuant
to 28 U.S.C. § 753(f), “[f]ees for transcripts
furnished in [civil] proceedings to persons permitted to
appeal in forma pauperis shall also be paid by the United
States if the trial judge or a circuit judge certifies that
the appeal is not frivolous (but presents a substantial
question).” See also Maloney v. E. I. DuPont de
Nemours & Co., 396 F.2d 939, 940 (D.C. Cir. 1967);
Henderson v. United States, 734 F.2d 483, 484 (9th
Cir. 1984). “A substantial question exists where the
issue before the court of appeals is reasonably
debatable.” Tuggles v. City of Antioch,
C08-01914JCS, 2010 WL 3955784 (N.D. Cal. Oct.8, 2010)
(internal citations and quotations omitted); see also
Randle v. Franklin, No. CV-08-00845-JAT, 2012 WL 201757,
at *2 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 23, 2012).
II.
DISCUSSION
It is
not entirely clear what Plaintiff is requesting. Plaintiff
states that he is requesting “partial transcripts,
” but then appears to state that he wants “[a]ll
transcripts, motions, exhibits, and telephonic/in person
conferences, oral and written, settlement offers by defense;
prior application for appeal: 9th Cir. COA # 17-16932 (ECF
#'s 14 to 34), then only ECF #'s 75 to 87, as the
Court had provided partial transcripts upon request on
12-11-19 (ECF # 91).” (ECF No. 100, p. 1). Later in the
motion, Plaintiff only appears to request: “1) 9th Cir.
COA Appeal # 17-16932[, and] 2) Eastern District ECF #s: 14
to 34, 66 to 68, 75 to 87….” (ECF No. 100, p.
3).[1]
Plaintiff's
motion will be denied. First, it is not clear if Plaintiff is
even requesting transcripts. Plaintiff states that he is
requesting transcripts, but later in the motion only requests
docketed documents. Second, even if Plaintiff is requesting
transcripts, Plaintiff failed to identify any particular
transcript that he believes is relevant to his appeal, and
after reviewing the docket, it is not clear to the Court that
there are any relevant transcripts.
As to
Plaintiff's request for docketed documents, those
requests will be denied. Plaintiff has already received
copies of the documents he is requesting, and Plaintiff has
not explained why he needs additional copies or why he is
unable to get those copies himself. Moreover, Plaintiff
failed to explain how the documents he is requesting are
relevant to his appeal.
III.
ORDER
Based
on the foregoing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs motion
requesting partial court transcripts ...