Smith v. Madsen

Background

Anthony Smith, a California prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, brought a civil-rights lawsuit against three correctional officers at the California Training Facility. The parties consented to a magistrate judge’s jurisdiction. The defendants filed a motion for partial summary judgment, and Smith’s opposition was due on November 24, 2021.

Requests Concerning Legal Mail

Smith asked the court to prohibit prison officials at the California Training Facility from opening his legal mail outside his presence. He did not identify whether the officials allegedly violating that right were the defendants or other prison officials. The court explained that it did not have jurisdiction—the legal authority to issue an order—against people who were not parties to the case. Although the court noted that prison officials generally may not open incoming legal mail outside a prisoner’s presence, it held that it could not issue an order against unidentified officials, particularly if they were not defendants. The court denied Smith’s request.

Discovery and Docket

Smith filed numerous discovery requests with the court, including interrogatories, requests for admissions, and requests for documents. The court stated that discovery requests must be sent to the defendants. Smith also said he did not know whether some mail to the court had arrived. The clerk was ordered to mail him a copy of the court’s docket showing what the court had received.

Disposition

The court denied Smith’s request for an order concerning legal mail and issued the docket-mailing instruction. The opinion excerpt does not state a separate disposition of the defendants’ partial-summary-judgment motion. Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley signed the order.