Gay v. Watkins, Civ. A. No. 83-2089.
| Decision Date | 08 November 1983 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 83-2089. |
| Parties | Wilmer B. GAY v. Thomas WATKINS, Assistant District Attorney, Joseph Cleary, Detective, Gaetan J. Alfano, Assistant District Attorney, Joseph A. Harrison, Deputy Court Administrator, Harold L. Randolph, Esquire, Robert B. Mozenter, Esquire, Irene E. Crystal, R.P.R., Official Court Reporter. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania |
Wilmer B. Gay, pro se.
Paul J. Gelman, Howland W. Abramson, Philadelphia, Pa., for defendants Crystal and Harrison.
H. Robert Fiebach, Barry M. Klayman, Philadelphia, Pa., for defendant Mozenter.
Kenneth L. Fox, Asst. City Sol., Philadelphia, Pa., for defendant Cleary.
Sarah B. Vandenbraak, Eric B. Henson, Asst. Dist. Attys., Philadelphia, Pa., for defendants Watkins and Alfano.
In this pro se civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, et seq., Wilmer B. Gay seeks damages and an injunction against several defendants for alleged violations of his constitutional rights. Gay, an inmate of Pennsylvania's State Correctional Institution at Pittsburgh, claims that the defendants have refused to provide him with complete and accurate transcripts of his criminal trial and post conviction hearings, thus depriving him of his First Amendment right of uninhibited access to the courts. The various defendants have filed motions to dismiss the complaint. In addition, defendants Watkins and Alfano have moved in the alternative for summary judgment, and defendant Cleary has made a motion for a more definite statement of the claims against him. For the reasons discussed below, I will treat the motions to dismiss as motions for summary judgment, and permit the plaintiff 30 days to respond.
The substance of Gay's complaint is that he has been denied access to various court records, including trial transcripts relating to his 1972 conviction for first degree murder and assault with intent to kill. Gay claims that these documents are necessary to pursue his post conviction remedies under Pennsylvania's Post Conviction Hearing Act (PCHA). As several of the defendants point out, however, it appears clear that Gay's attorneys have had unrestricted access to the relevant documents throughout this litigation. If Gay's attorneys have in fact had such access, plaintiff has suffered no deprivation of his constitutional rights. Smith v. Beto, 472 F.2d 164 (5th Cir.1973); Hooks v. Roberts, 480 F.2d 1196, 1198 (5th Cir.1973), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1163, 94 S.Ct. 926, 39 L.Ed.2d 116 (1974).
Initially, plaintiff's complaint itself clearly shows that his first PCHA attorney, Robert B. Mozenter, had access to the trial transcripts. Both plaintiff's complaint and a supporting affidavit submitted by plaintiff's brother, Roger T. Gay, state that plaintiff's brother purchased a complete set of the documents with plaintiff's money, and submitted them to plain...
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Williams v. Dark, Civ. A. No. 93-2232.
...the litigation then "plaintiff the criminal defendant has suffered no deprivation to his constitutional rights." Gay v. Watkins, 573 F.Supp. 706, 707 (E.D.Pa.1983). In addition, a criminal defendant, now a civil plaintiff, "had no constitutional right to a personal copy of the transcripts. ......
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Gay v. Watkins, Civ. A. No. 83-2089.
...P. Trigiani, also violated his constitutional rights, but the claims against Trigiani are not before me on these motions. On November 8, 1983, 573 F.Supp. 706, having decided to treat defendants' motions to dismiss as motions for summary judgment, I postponed ruling on defendants' motions t......
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Gay v. Watkins, Civ. A. No. 83-2089.
...of access to various court records and documents which he feels are necessary to perfect his post-conviction remedies. Gay v. Watkins, 573 F.Supp. 706 (E.D.Pa.1983). I have also ruled, however, that Gay's right of access to such documents has been satisfied if his various attorneys have had......