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Williams v. Schwarzenegger

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Oct 13, 2010
399 F. App'x 286 (9th Cir. 2010)

Opinion

No. 06-16997.

Submitted September 13, 2010.

The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument and therefore denies Williams' request. See Fed.R.App.P. 34(a)(2).

Filed October 13, 2010.

Abe Williams, Jr., lone, CA, pro se.

Anthony P. O'Brien, Esq., Office of the California Attorney General, Sacramento, CA, for Defendants-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, Morrison C. England, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-02-00864-MCE.

Before: SILVERMAN, CALLAHAN, and N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judges.



MEMORANDUM

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.

California state prisoner Abe Williams, Jr. appeals pro se from the district court's summary judgment in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo a district court's grant of summary judgment, Toguchi v. Chung, 391 F.3d 1051, 1056 (9th Cir. 2004), and for an abuse of discretion a denial of a motion to compel discovery, Hallett v. Morgan, 296 F.3d 732, 751 (9th Cir. 2002). We affirm.

The district court properly granted summary judgment because Williams' allegations that Defendants misapply various provisions of the California Penal Code rest on erroneous interpretations of state law such that Williams has not suffered any constitutional injury. See 42 U.S.C. § 1983; In re Dannenberg, 34 Cal.4th 1061, 1079-80, 23 Cal.Rptr.3d 417, 104 P.3d 783 (2005); In re Dayan, 231 Cal. App.3d 184, 186-89, 282 Cal.Rptr. 269 (1991).

Moreover, to the extent Williams' § 1983 action challenges prior parole suitability decisions or would otherwise necessarily demonstrate the invalidity of the duration of his confinement, it is barred by Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 114 S.Ct. 2364, 129 L.Ed.2d 383 (1994). See Wilkinson v. Dotson, 544 U.S. 74, 82, 125 S.Ct. 1242, 161 L.Ed.2d 253 (2005).

The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Williams' motion to compel discovery. See Hallett, 296 F.3d at 751 (trial court's broad discretion to deny discovery "will not be disturbed except upon the clearest showing that [the] denial of discovery resulted] in actual and substantial prejudice to the complaining litigant") (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

Williams' remaining contentions are unpersuasive.

We deny Williams' motion for removal of the stay of proceedings as moot.

AFFIRMED.


Summaries of

Williams v. Schwarzenegger

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Oct 13, 2010
399 F. App'x 286 (9th Cir. 2010)
Case details for

Williams v. Schwarzenegger

Case Details

Full title:Abe WILLIAMS, Jr., Plaintiff Appellant, v. Arnold SCHWARZENEGGER, et al.…

Court:United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Date published: Oct 13, 2010

Citations

399 F. App'x 286 (9th Cir. 2010)

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