Kenneth O. Ashelman v. Hon. Gary Pope, Judge Division 1, Mohave Superior Court Mohave County Attorney's Office

Kenneth 0. Ashelman, an Arizona prisoner, filed a 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 & 1985(3) pro se complaint against Mohave County Superior Court Judge Gary Pope and the Mohave County Attorney’s Office for injunctive relief. The complaint alleged that Judge Pope and the Mohave County Attorney’s Office conspired to deprive Ashelman of various constitutional rights while he was defending himself pro se in a criminal action before the Mohave Superior Court.

Ashelman later filed a motion to amend his original complaint to add several defendants and to allege monetary damages. The district court denied the motion to amend, ordered that process not be served on any additional defendants, and dismissed the complaint. Ashelman timely appeals.

Ashelman’s original complaint alleges in very general terms that Judge Pope and the Mohave County Attorney’s Office conspired to deny Ashelman his constitutional rights while he was defending himself pro se in the criminal action by depriving him of, among other things, access to the law library, effective assistance of counsel, subpoenas for witnesses, and legal supplies. Ashelman subsequently filed a document, which he labeled a “supplemental pleading,”…