(HC) Littleton v. Sacramento County ( 2022 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 8 9 MICHAEL LITTLETON, No. 2:22-cv-1159-EFB (HC) 10 Petitioner, 11 v. ORDER 12 SACRAMENTO COUNTY, 13 Respondent. 14 15 Petitioner is a county jail inmate proceeding without counsel. He commenced this action 16 using a state court form for a petition for writ of habeas corpus. ECF No. 1. Since then, he has 17 filed numerous declarations, supplements, and statements asserting various “claims” for relief. 18 See ECF Nos. 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10. He also seeks leave to proceed in forma pauperis. ECF No. 12. 19 It is unclear whether petitioner intends to proceed with this case as a habeas action 20 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 or as a civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Habeas 21 petitions and civil rights complaints provide exclusive vehicles for relief and may not be pursued 22 concurrently in a single action. See Nettles v. Grounds, 830 F.3d 922, 931 (9th Cir. 2016) 23 (holding that if a state prisoner’s claim would not necessarily lead to immediate or speedier 24 release, it may not be brought in habeas corpus but must be brought, if at all, under § 1983). 25 Further, the filing fee for a civil rights action filed by a prisoner proceeding in forma pauperis is 26 $350.00, compared to $5.00 for habeas petitions. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). Petitioner must 27 specify whether he intends to proceed with this action as one for habeas relief pursuant to 28 28 U.S.C. § 2254 or for civil rights violations pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. ] Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that: 2 1. The Clerk of the Court is directed to send petitioner the court’s forms for an 3 application for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 and for a civil 4 rights complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 5 2. Petitioner shall file either a petition for writ of habeas corpus or a civil rights 6 complaint asserting a// of his claims for relief within 30 days of the date of this order. 7 3. Failure to comply with this order may result in the dismissal of this action. 8 | DATED: August 10, 2022. □□ PDEA 10 EDMUND F. BRENNAN 11 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28