Chenoweth v. State of Washington

[7] UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT [8] WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT TACOMA [9] 10 MICHAEL DAVID JOHN CHENOWETH, CASE NO. 3:25-cv-05485-TSZ-GJL 11 Plaintiff, v. ORDER ON MOTION [12] STATE OF WASHINGTON, [13] Defendant. [14] 15 This case has been referred to the Court by the District Court. On June 2, 2025, Plaintiff 16 Michael D.J. Chenoweth, proceeding pro se, filed this civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 . 17 Dkt. 1. After being informed of his filing deficiencies related to the filing of a motion to proceed 18 In Forma Pauperis (“IFP”) or payment of the filing fee, Plaintiff filed an IFP Motion and 19 Proposed Complaint on August 8, 2025. See Dkt. 7, 7-1. On August 22, 2025, the Court screened 20 the Proposed Complaint and issued an Order declining to serve the Proposed Complaint and 21 granting leave to file an amended pleading by September 22, 2025. See Dkt. 9. Rather than file 22 an amended pleading, on August 29, 2025, Plaintiff filed a Motion that states, in full, “Request 23 for temporary release and 6 months extension of time to amend?” Dkt. 12. [24] 1 For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiff’s request for temporary release (Dkt. 12) is 2 DENIED and Plaintiff’s request for an extension of time to file an amended complaint (Dkt. 12) 3 is GRANTED. 4 I. DISCUSSION 5 A. Motion for Temporary Release (Dkt. 12) 6 Plaintiff, a state prisoner currently located at the Stafford Creek Corrections Center 7 (“SCCC”), requests a “temporary release” in his Motion. Dkt. 12. Plaintiff cites no authority for 8 this request, nor does he provide any reason for the need for temporary release from his 9 confinement in state prison. 10 Under Washington state law, the sole authority to grant temporary release to a state 11 prisoner vests with the Washington Department of Corrections (“DOC”). See RCW 72.66.012 12 (“The secretary [of DOC] may grant a furlough”); see also In re Cage, 181 Wash. App. 588 , 594 13 (Wash. Ct. App. 2014) (DOC, not a trial court, has the exclusive authority to release prisoners 14 for furlough). As such, this Court does not have the authority to grant Plaintiff’s request here for 15 temporary release. The Motion for temporary release (Dkt. 12) is DENIED. 16 B. Motion for Extension of Time to File Amended Complaint (Dkt. 12) 17 Plaintiff has also requested a six-month extension of time to file an amended complaint. 18 Dkt. 12. Upon consideration of this request, the Court finds Plaintiff has not demonstrated good 19 cause for a six-month extension of time to file an amended complaint. However, in the interest of 20 justice to this pro se Plaintiff, the Court will GRANT Plaintiff leave to file an amended 21 complaint within thirty days of the date of this Order. 22 The Court further notes the following with respect to filing an amended complaint. 23 Plaintiff’s amended complaint shall include a short, plain statement telling the Court: (1) the [24] 1 constitutional right Plaintiff believes was violated; (2) the name of the person who violated the 2 right; (3) exactly what the individual did or failed to do; (4) how the action or inaction of the 3 individual is connected to the violation of Plaintiff’s constitutional rights; and (5) what specific 4 injury Plaintiff suffered because of the individual’s conduct. See Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362 , 5 371–72, 377 (1976). Each claim for relief must be simple, concise, and direct. 6 Additionally, Plaintiff shall present the amended complaint on the form provided by the 7 Court. The amended complaint must be legibly rewritten or retyped in its entirety, it should 8 contain the same case number, and it may not incorporate any part of the original complaint by 9 reference. The amended complaint will act as a complete substitute for any previously filed 10 complaint, and not as a supplement. 11 Finally, the Court will screen the amended complaint to determine whether it contains 12 factual allegations linking each defendant to the alleged violations of Plaintiff’s rights. The Court 13 will not authorize service of the amended complaint on any defendant who is not specifically 14 linked to a violation of Plaintiff’s rights. 15 II. CONCLUSION 16 Based on the foregoing, the Court ORDERS as follows: 17 (1) The Motion for temporary release (Dkt. 12) is DENIED. 18 (2) The Motion for an extension of time to file an amended complaint (Dkt. 12) is 19 GRANTED. Plaintiff shall file an amended complaint on or before November 7, 20 2025. If Plaintiff fails to file an amended complaint on or before November 7, 21 2025, the undersigned WILL RECOMMEND DISMISSAL of this action. 22 Further, the Court will not grant further extensions of time for leave to file an 23 amended complaint absent extraordinary circumstances. [24] 1 (3) The Clerk is directed to send Plaintiff the appropriate forms for filing a 42 U.S.C. 2 § 1983 civil rights complaint and for service. 3 (4) As a prisoner incarcerated at SCCC, Plaintiff is required to participate in the 4 Prisoner E-Filing Initiative pursuant to General Order 06-16. As such, Plaintiff 5 must comply by submitting all future documents to be filed with this Court to the 6 SCCC law librarian/designee for electronic filing. The Clerk of Court shall not 7 accept for filing any future documents submitted by Plaintiff through the U.S. 8 Postal Service, and the Clerk of Court is directed to RETURN any such 9 documents to Plaintiff without accepting them for filing. 10 (5) The Clerk of Court is directed to RE-NOTE the Motion for Leave to Proceed In 11 Forma Pauperis (Dkt. 7) for consideration on November 7, 2025. [12] 13 Dated this 6th day of October, 2025. [14] A [15] 16 Grady J. Leupold United States Magistrate Judge