(PC) Simmons v. Cates ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 MELVIN JOSEPH SIMMONS, 1:23-cv-00856-JLT-GSA-PC 12 ORDER STRIKING PLAINTIFF’S Plaintiff, AUGUST 14, 2023 NOTICE AS MOOT 13 vs. (ECF No. 15.) 14 CATES, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 18 I. BACKGROUND 19 Melvin Joseph Simmons (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with this civil 20 rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On June 5, 2023, Plaintiff filed the Complaint 21 commencing this action. (ECF No. 1.) The Complaint awaits the Court’s requisite screening 22 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915. 23 On August 14, 2023, Plaintiff filed a document titled “Notice and Civil Rights Action for 24 Statutory Damages . . .” (ECF No. 15.) 1 On August 17, 2023, the Court issued an order requiring 25 26 1 The entire title of Plaintiff’s August 14, 2023 filing is “Notice and Civil Rights Action for Statutory Damages Against Employees of the United States Commissioner’s United States Magistrate 27 Judge Gary S. Austin and United States District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston for Failure to Perform Their 28 Legal Obligations and Implied Fiduciary Duty in Due Diligence Salvor Established to Combat Human Trafficking in Accordance to Operation of Law 18 USCS § 1595A.(b)(c).” (ECF No. 15.) 1 Plaintiff to respond to the Court and clarify the legal nature of his August 14, 2023 filing. (ECF 2 No. 16.) On September 5, 2023 and September 14, 2023, Plaintiff filed responses to the Court’s 3 order. (ECF Nos. 17, 18.) 4 II. PLAINTIFF’S RESPONSES 5 In Plaintiff’s first response, filed on September 5, 2023, he primarily indicates that he is 6 seeking damages against Magistrate Judge Gary S. Austin and District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston 7 for their failure to perform fiduciary and legal duties. (ECF No. 17.) Plaintiff’s second response, 8 filed on September 14, 2023, indicates that Plaintiff requests the two Judges to disqualify 9 themselves from proceeding with this case based on their personal bias or prejudice concerning 10 the parties. (ECF No. 18.) 11 The Court interprets Plaintiff’s August 14, 2023 Notice as a motion to disqualify 12 Magistrate Judge Gary S. Austin and District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston from proceeding with 13 this case, and a motion to recover monetary damages from the two Judges. Such motions were 14 resolved by the Court’s orders issued on August 8, 2023 (ECF No. 13) and August 9, 2023 (ECF 15 No. 14). Therefore, the Court shall strike Plaintiff’s August 14, 2023 Notice (ECF No. 15) as 16 moot. Until the Court screens the Plaintiff’s complaint, any further “motions” by Plaintiff which 17 are based on the same or similar requests as those contained in Plaintiff’s August 14, 2023 (Doc 18 # 15) Notice, shall be ordered stricken as moot. 19 The Court also notes that to the extent Plaintiff’s allegations are based on a sovereign 20 citizen ideology, courts have uniformly and summarily rejected these theories/arguments as 21 frivolous and meritless. See Dickenson v. Biden, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 185614. 22 III. CONCLUSION AND ORDER 23 The Court interprets Plaintiff’s August 14, 2023 Notice as a motion to disqualify 24 Magistrate Judge Gary S. Austin and District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston from proceeding with 25 this case, and a motion to recover monetary damages from the Judges. Such motions were 26 resolved by the Court’s orders issued on August 8, 2023 (ECF No. 13) and August 9, 2023 (ECF 27 No. 14). Therefore, based on the foregoing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 28 1 1. Plaintiff’s August 14, 2023 filing (ECF No. 15), titled “Plaintiff’s Notice; and 2 Civil Rights Action for Statutory Damages Against Employees of the United States 3 Commissioner’s United States Magistrate Judge Gary S. Austin and United States District Judge 4 Jennifer L. Thurston for Failure to Perform Their Legal Obligations and Implied Fiduciary Duty 5 in Due Diligence Salvor Established to Combat Human Trafficking in Accordance to Operation 6 of Law 18 USCS § 1595A.(b)(c)” is STRICKEN from the record as moot; and 7 2. Plaintiff is further advised that until such time as the Court has screened the 8 complaint in this action, any future requests, notices, or motions which are the same or similar 9 to the Notice filed by Plaintiff on August 14, 2023 (Doc # 15), shall also be ordered stricken 10 from the record as moot. 11 IT IS SO ORDERED. 12 13 Dated: September 24, 2023 /s/ Gary S. Austin UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28