FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION JAN 08 2010
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
KEVIN LYNN FERNANDEZ, No. 08-15947
Plaintiff - Appellant, D.C. No. 3:06-CV-00628-LRH-
RAM
v.
STATE OF NEVADA; et al., MEMORANDUM *
Defendants - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Nevada
Larry R. Hicks, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted December 15, 2009 **
Before: GOODWIN, WALLACE, and CLIFTON, Circuit Judges.
Kevin Lynn Fernandez, a Nevada state prisoner, appeals pro se from the
district court’s order denying his motion for leave to proceed using a pseudonym.
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). Accordingly, Fernandez’s
request for oral argument is denied.
JK/Research
We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review for an abuse of
discretion. Does I Thru XXIII v. Advanced Textile Corp., 214 F.3d 1058, 1069 (9th
Cir. 2000). We affirm.
The district court did not abuse its discretion by denying leave to proceed
using a pseudonym because there were no special or unusual circumstances that
justified protection of Fernandez’s identity. See United States v. Stoterau, 524
F.3d 988, 1012-14 (9th Cir. 2008) (rejecting a request for a pseudonym based on
the nature of the prisoner’s conviction as a sex offender “because this concern is
equally present for all similarly situated sex offenders who face prison sentences,”
and questioning the value of pseudonymity where the prisoner’s conviction was a
matter of public record and many of the documents were not submitted under seal).
AFFIRMED.
JK/Research 2 08-15947