Davis
Knox v. Davis
Opinion
Dissenting Opinion
Schwarzer, J.
Dissenting:
I respectfully dissent. The majority opinion’s analysis misconceives the issue and its citations do not support its conclusion.
We must begin by identifying the underlying right at issue. Knox claims that the defendants interfered with her right to pursue her profession as a lawyer. That such a right exists is beyond question. See, e.g., Gabbert v. Conn, 131 F.3d 793, 800-01 (9th Cir.1997) (“the Fourteenth Amendment protects an individual’s right to practice a profession free from undue and unreasonable state interference ... ”), rev’d on other grounds, 526 U.S. 286 , 119 S.Ct. 1292 , 143 L.Ed.2d 399 (1999); see also Bd. of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 570-73, 576-77 , 92 S.Ct. 2701 , 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972). The question this case raises is whether CDC’s withdrawal of Knox’s legal mail and visitation rights at all CDC facilities and with all CDC inmates constitutes an unreasonable interference.
The second amended complaint alleges that in 1997, CDC refused Knox’s request for a legal visit with her client, Anthony Oliver; that in October 1997, she sent legal mail to her client, Gary Lee Miller, which was not delivered to him but was instead…
Lead Opinion
Brunetti, J.
Opinion by Judge BRUNETTI; Dissent by Judge SCHWARZER
Monica Knox (“Knox”) appeals from the district court’s dismissal of her § 1983 action on the basis that her claim was not brought within the applicable one-year lim *1011 itation period. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.
I. Facts
Knox is an attorney who is licensed to practice law in the state of California. She has been a criminal defense attorney for over nineteen years and works in the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California.
Knox began representing William Packer (“Packer”), an inmate in a California Department of Corrections (“CDC”) facility, in January 1993. In July 1995, Knox married Packer, and since then has continued to serve as Packer’s public defense attorney. Throughout the course of their professional and personal relationships, Knox and Packer have exchanged both confidential and general correspondence through the CDC prison system. In addition, Knox visited Packer in prison both as a general visitor and as a legal visitor on numerous occasions.
After Packer was placed in Administrative Segregation in CSP-LAC (the prison facility where…