Earl Wayne Wyatt v. Cal A. Terhune Suzan Hubbard, Warden

Appellant Earl Wayne Wyatt, a Rastafarian inmate, filed this § 1983 action challenging the California Department of Corrections’ hair length regulations as a violation of his constitutional and statutory rights to free exercise of religion and equal protection of the laws. This appeal concerns three procedural issues rather than the merits of Wyatt’s claims.

In addressing Wyatt’s First Amendment claim, the magistrate judge assigned to the case served on the parties a copy of his findings of fact from a different case challenging the grooming regulations and directed defendants to file a summary judgment motion. He did not explain to Wyatt, a pro se prisoner, the significance of the findings, that he intended to take judicial notice of the findings in Wyatt’s case or whether or how Wyatt could dispute the findings in the summary judgment process. Once defendants filed their summary judgment motion, the magistrate judge indeed took extensive judicial notice of his prior findings and recommended that the district court grant defendants summary judgment; the district court adopted the findings and recommendation of the magistrate judge in full. On appeal, Wyatt challenges the…