The following excerpt is from Rainwater v. McGinniss, No. 2:11-cv-0030 GGH P (E.D. Cal. 2012):
Nor has plaintiff presented a viable claim for denial of access to the courts. Prisoners have a constitutional right to be afforded "a reasonably adequate opportunity to present claimed violations of fundamental constitutional rights to the courts." Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 351, 116 S.Ct. 2174 (1996). This right applies to prisoners' challenges to their convictions or sentences or conditions of confinement. Id. at 354. Prison officials may not "actively interfer[e] with inmates' attempts to prepare legal documents or file them." Id. at 350. To establish a claim for any violation of the right of access to the courts, prisoners must prove an actual injury by showing that their efforts to pursue a non-frivolous claim concerning their conviction or conditions of confinement has been hindered. Id. at 350-55. Plaintiff has not presented any evidence that any lawsuits or cases were in anyway hindered other than stating he filed several habeas petitions that were denied, but provides no specific details. Summary judgment is granted for defendant.
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