Morgan v. United States ( 2024 )

1 2 3 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 4 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 5 6 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Case No. 2:17-cr-00064-KJD-GWF 2:20-cv-01828-KJD 7 Plaintiff, 8 v. ORDER 9 JACK WILLIAM MORGAN, 10 Defendant. 11 Presently before the Court are seven pro se motions filed by Defendant Jack Morgan: (1) 12 Motion for Copy of Court File and to Appoint Counsel (#143), (2) Motion for Appointment of 13 Counsel (#146), (3) Motion for Copies (#159), (4) Motion for Status Update (#163), (5) Motion 14 for Copy of Document (#164), (6) Motion for Form for Sentence Reduction (#166), and (7) 15 Motion for Copies (#177).1 The Court will address each motion in turn, beginning with 16 Morgan’s Motion for Copy of Court File and to Appoint Counsel (#143). 17 I. Analysis 18 A. Motion for Copy of Court File and to Appoint Counsel (#143) 19 Defendant’s motion requests a “complete electronic copy of [his] court file, including 20 discovery[.]” (#143, at 1). Although Defendant was recently granted IFP status (See #180), the 21 statute allowing a party to proceed in forma pauperis does not include the right to obtain court 22 documents without payment. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915; Local Special Rule 1-6. Therefore, the Court 23 ordinarily cannot provide free copies even to indigent plaintiffs proceeding in forma pauperis. 24 Jackson v. Philson, No. 3:20-CV-00009-GMN-CLB, 2020 WL 9888358, at *1 (D. Nev. Sept. 28, 25 2020). However, as a courtesy, the Court will provide Defendant with a copy of the docket sheet. 26 Moreover, Defendant requests appointment of counsel for assistance in filing a “§ 2241 27 1 In a related case, 2:20-cv-01828-KJD, Defendant filed a Motion for Status (#5), requesting an update on 28 his motion to vacate. (#5). The Court declines to address Defendant’s request as it has already been addressed by his filings in the current matter. Therefore, the motion is dismissed. 1 motion.” (#143). The right to appointed counsel extends to the first appeal of right, and no 2 further. Pennsylvania v. Finley, 481 U.S. 551, 555 (1987). Instead, the decision to appoint 3 counsel in post-conviction proceedings rests with the discretion of the district court. United 4 States v. Harrington, 410 F.3d 598, 600 (9th Cir. 2005). Here, Morgan’s motion fails to make 5 any allegations that constitute the type of exceptional circumstances that would warrant the 6 appointment of counsel. As such, the Court finds that appointment of counsel is unwarranted. 7 B. Motion for Appointment of Counsel (#146) 8 Liberally construed, Defendant’s motion requests that this Court appoint counsel to evaluate 9 whether recent legislation has any impact on his sentence. (#146); see generally Draper v. 10 Rosario, 836 F.3d 1072, 1080 (9th Cir. 2016) (“[P]ro se pleadings must be construed 11 liberally[.]”). As stated above, Defendant is not entitled to counsel, and his recent motion adds 12 no new reasoning that persuades the Court otherwise. Furthermore, Defendant requests an update 13 regarding this Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence Under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (#138). 14 Id. Defendant filed his motion to vacate on September 30, 2020, and on October 20, 2020, the 15 Court denied the motion. (#139). As such, Defendant’s motion is dismissed. However, as a 16 courtesy, the Court will provide Defendant with a copy of its order. 17 C. Motion for Copies (#159) 18 Defendant’s motion requests an update regarding his motion for compassionate release 19 (#147). (#159). Currently, the motion is under adjudication, and a final determination is 20 forthcoming. As such, Defendant’s motion is dismissed. 21 D. Motion for Status Update and Request for Transcripts (#163) 22 Defendant’s motion requests an update regarding his motion for compassionate release 23 (#147) and a request for transcripts. (#159). As stated above, the motion for compassionate 24 release is still undergoing adjudication, with a final determination to follow. Furthermore, the 25 request for transcripts was made in response to Defendant’s appeal, and no further action is 26 necessary regarding this request. (See #120/121). As such, Defendant’s motion is dismissed. 27 E. Motion for Copy of Document (#164) 28 Defendant’s motion requests an update regarding his motion for compassionate release (#147) and requests that a 28 U.S.C. “§ 2255 form and compassionate release form” be sent to 2| him. (#164). As previously mentioned, the motion for compassionate release is still under 3 | adjudication, and a final decision with be made thereafter. Furthermore, as stated above, the statute allowing a party to proceed in forma pauperis does not include the right to obtain court 5 | documents without payment. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915; Local Special Rule 1-6; Jackson, 2020 WL 9888358, at *1. In addition, the Court finds no reason to provide Defendant with a courtesy copy 7 | ofthese forms, as his motion to vacate has already been ruled on, and his motion for 8 | compassionate release is still pending. As such, Defendant’s motion is dismissed. 9 F. Motion for Form for Sentence Reduction and Motion for Copies (#166/177) 10 Defendant’s motions are a reiteration of requests already submitted to the Court—requests 11 | for copies of documents, status updates regarding his motion to vacate, and the appointment of 12 | counsel. (#166/177). As the motions add nothing new to Defendant’s numerous requests, they 13 | are dismissed. 14} IL Conclusion 15 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion for Copy of Court File 16 | and to Appoint Counsel (#143), Motion for Appointment of Counsel (#146), Motion for Copies 17 | (#159), Motion for Status Update (#163), Motion for Copy of Document (#164), Motion for 18 | Form for Sentence Reduction (#166), and Motion for Copies (#177) are all DISMISSED. 19 Furthermore, IT IS ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion for Status (#5), in case 2:20-cv- 20 | 01828-KJD, is DISMISSED. 21 The Clerk of the Court is kindly directed to send Defendant the following: 22 1. copy of the docket sheet in this case. 23 2. Acopy of the Court’s Order (#139). 24 25 | Dated this 10 day of April 2024. 26 ! | Sy 27 Kent J. Dawson 28 United States District Judge -3-