(PC) Williams v. Rocha ( 2022 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 LANCE WILLIAMS, Case No. 1:22-cv-00095-SKO (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE WHY ACTION SHOULD NOT BE DISMISSED FOR 13 v. FAILURE TO EXHAUST 14 A. NOCHA, et al., 21-DAY DEADLINE 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff Lance Williams is a state prisoner proceeding pro se in this action brought 18 pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In his complaint, Plaintiff admits that he has failed to file an 19 administrative grievance regarding his claims. (Doc. 1 at 3, 4.) 20 The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) provides that “[n]o action shall be brought with 21 respect to prison conditions under . . . any other Federal law . . . by a prisoner confined in any jail, 22 prison, or other correctional facility until such administrative remedies as are available are 23 exhausted.” 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a). Exhaustion of administrative remedies is mandatory and 24 “unexhausted claims cannot be brought in court.” Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199, 211 (citation 25 omitted). The exhaustion requirement applies to all inmate suits relating to prison life, Porter v. 26 Nussle, 534 U.S. 516, 532 (2002), regardless of the relief sought by the prisoner or offered by the 27 administrative process, Booth v. Churner, 532 U.S. 731, 741 (2001). Inmates are required to 28 “complete the administrative review process in accordance with the applicable procedural rules, 1 including deadlines, as a precondition to bringing suit in federal court.” Woodford v. Ngo, 548 2 U.S. 81, 88, 93 (2006). Generally, failure to exhaust is an affirmative defense that the defendant 3 must plead and prove. Jones, 549 U.S. at 204, 216. However, courts may dismiss a claim if 4 failure to exhaust is clear on the face of the complaint. See Albino v. Baca, 747 F.3d 1162, 1166 5 (9th Cir. 2014). 6 Here, Plaintiff failed to exhaust administrative remedies prior to filing suit. Accordingly, 7 the Court ORDERS Plaintiff, within 21 days of the date of service of this order, to show cause in 8 writing why this action should not be dismissed for his failure to exhaust. Alternatively, Plaintiff 9 may file a notice of voluntary dismissal. Failure to comply with this order will result in a 10 recommendation that this action be dismissed. 11 12 IT IS SO ORDERED. 13 Dated: February 1, 2022 /s/ Sheila K. Oberto . 14 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28