Elmo Williams v. H. v. Field Et Al‪.‬

The appellant is a California state prisoner. Invoking the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. ? 1981 et seq., and 28 U.S.C. ?? 1331, 1343(3), he instituted suit against a number of state officials of the institution in which he is confined. He made numerous charges, some of which, even if true, would not support his action. He did, however, generally allege that the defendants had conspired to, and did, confiscate and destroy certain of his personal property consisting of "legal documents, letters, etc.," thus wrongfully preventing his access to the courts and frustrating efforts to gain his freedom. These allegations did "shadow forth a claim under the Civil Rights Act, however imperfectly." Jenks v. Henys, 378 F.2d 334, 335 (9th Cir. 1967).