Santos v. Corrections Corporation of America et al

Filing 6

ORDER, granting Plaintiff's 3 Motion for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis; denying Plaintiff's 5 Motion to Appoint Counsel; the Complaint 1 is dismissed for failure to state a claim; the Clerk must enter judgment accordingly; the Cl erk must make an entry on the docket stating that the dismissal for failure to state a claim may count as a "strike" under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g); the docket shall reflect that the Court certifies, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) and Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure 24(a)(3)(A), that any appeal of this decision would not be taken in good faith. Signed by Judge James A Teilborg on 4/11/11. (REW)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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Corrections Corporation of America, et al.,)
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Defendants.
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Jason K. Santos,

No. CV 11-630-PHX-JAT (MEA)
ORDER

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Plaintiff Jason K. Santos, who is confined in the Corrections Corporation of America-

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Saguaro Correctional Center, has filed a pro se civil rights Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C.

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§ 1983, an Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis, and a Motion to Appoint Counsel.

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The Court will deny the Motion to Appoint Counsel and dismiss the action.

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I.

Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis and Filing Fee

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Plaintiff’s Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis will be granted. 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1915(a). Plaintiff must pay the statutory filing fee of $350.00. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1).

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The Court will assess an initial partial filing fee of $22.00. The remainder of the fee will be

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collected monthly in payments of 20% of the previous month’s income each time the amount

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in the account exceeds $10.00. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). The Court will enter a separate

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Order requiring the appropriate government agency to collect and forward the fees according

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to the statutory formula.

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II.

Statutory Screening of Prisoner Complaints

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The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against

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a governmental entity or an officer or an employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if a plaintiff has raised

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claims that are legally frivolous or malicious, that fail to state a claim upon which relief may

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be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief.

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28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), (2).

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A pleading must contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the

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pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2) (emphasis added). While Rule 8 does not

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demand detailed factual allegations, “it demands more than an unadorned, the-defendant-

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unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 1949 (2009).

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“Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory

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statements, do not suffice.” Id.

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“[A] complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a

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claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Id. (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly,

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550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). A claim is plausible “when the plaintiff pleads factual content

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that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the

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misconduct alleged.” Id. “Determining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for

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relief [is] . . . a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial

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experience and common sense.” Id. at 1950. Thus, although a plaintiff’s specific factual

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allegations may be consistent with a constitutional claim, a court must assess whether there

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are other “more likely explanations” for a defendant’s conduct. Id. at 1951.

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But as the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has instructed, courts

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must “continue to construe pro se filings liberally.” Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th

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Cir. 2010). A “complaint [filed by a pro se prisoner] ‘must be held to less stringent standards

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than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.’” Id. (quoting Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89,

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94 (2007) (per curiam)).

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If the Court determines that a pleading could be cured by the allegation of other facts,
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a pro se litigant is entitled to an opportunity to amend a complaint before dismissal of the

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action. See Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1127-29 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc). The Court

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should not, however, advise the litigant how to cure the defects. This type of advice “would

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undermine district judges’ role as impartial decisionmakers.” Pliler v. Ford, 542 U.S. 225,

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231 (2004); see also Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1131 n.13 (declining to decide whether the court was

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required to inform a litigant of deficiencies). Plaintiff’s Complaint will be dismissed for

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failure to state a claim, without leave to amend because the defects cannot be corrected.

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III.

Complaint

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Plaintiff names the following Defendants in the Complaint: Corrections Corporation

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of America, Warden Todd Thomson, Assistant Warden Ben Griego, Assistant Warden Jodi

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Bradley, Unit Manager M. T. Betrus, and Correctional Counselor Nadia Clark.

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Plaintiff raises three grounds for relief in which he claims that his Eighth Amendment

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rights were violated. Plaintiff alleges that in May 2009, he and other inmates in his unit were

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let out of their cells for dayroom time. Inmates were instructed to bring cooking and

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showering supplies because their cell doors would be locked behind them. Plaintiff alleges

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that he began to feel ill and asked Defendant Clark to unlock his cell door so he could use

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the bathroom. Defendant Clark denied his request. Plaintiff made several more requests but

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was denied by Defendant Clark and other Correctional Officers. Plaintiff states that he

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eventually relieved himself using a bucket in the janitor’s closet and was then later

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disciplined for “unsanitary.” Plaintiff claims that he was denied use of a toilet for one hour

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and thirty-five minutes.

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In Count II, Plaintiff repeats his claim and argues that he was denied a basic necessity

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for one hour and thirty-five minutes. In Count III, Plaintiff alleges the same facts and argues

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that Defendants were deliberately indifferent to Plaintiff’s need to use a toilet.
Plaintiff seeks money damages and injunctive relief.

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IV.

Failure to State a Claim

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An Eighth Amendment claim requires a sufficiently culpable state of mind by the

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Defendants, known as “deliberate indifference.” Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 834
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(1994). Deliberate indifference is a higher standard than negligence or lack of ordinary due

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care for the prisoner’s safety. Id. at 835. To state a claim of deliberate indifference,

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plaintiffs must meet a two-part test. First, the alleged constitutional deprivation must be,

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objectively, “sufficiently serious”; the official’s act or omission must result in the denial of

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“the minimal civilized measure of life’s necessities.” Id. at 834. Second, the prison official

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must have a “sufficiently culpable state of mind,” i.e., he must act with deliberate

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indifference to inmate health or safety. Id. In defining “deliberate indifference” in this

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context, the Supreme Court has imposed a subjective test: “the official must both be aware

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of facts from which the inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm

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exists, and he must also draw the inference.” Id. at 837 (emphasis added).

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In this case, Plaintiff has not alleged a “sufficiently serious” deprivation to state a

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claim for a violation of the Eighth Amendment. See Hartsfield v. Vidor, 199 F.3d 305, 309-

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10 (6th Cir. 1999) (finding no constitutional violation where plaintiff was not allowed to use

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toilet, was allowed to sit in his own urine, and was not provided with fresh drinking water

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for two 8-hour periods; noting that the court had previously held that deprivations of fresh

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water and access to a toilet for 20 hours was harsh, but not cruel and unusual). Cf. Johnson

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v. Lewis, 217 F.3d 726, 733 (9th Cir. 2000) (“[W]e have no doubt that toilets can be

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unavailable for some period time without violating the Eighth Amendment . . . .”).

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Although Plaintiff’s situation was no doubt discomforting and undesirable, Plaintiff’s

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allegation that, on a single occasion, he was denied access to a toilet for a brief period of time

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simply does not rise to the level of a constitutional violation. The Court will therefore

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dismiss the Complaint and this action.

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V.

Dismissal without Leave to Amend

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Where amendment would be futile, there is no reason to prolong litigation by allowing

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further amendments. Lipton v. Pathogenesis Corp., 284 F.3d 1027, 1039 (9th Cir.2002);

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Klamath-Lake Pharmaceutical Ass’n v. Klamath Med. Serv. Bureau, 701 F.2d 1276, 1293

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(9th Cir.1983) (futile amendments should not be permitted). The Court finds that Plaintiff’s

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claims cannot be cured by amendment and will therefore dismiss the Complaint without
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leave to amend.

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VI.

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Motion to Appoint Counsel
Because the Court will dismiss the Complaint, the Court will deny as moot the Motion

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to Appoint Counsel.

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IT IS ORDERED:

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(1)

Plaintiff’s Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Doc. 3) is granted.

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(2)

As required by the accompanying Order to the appropriate government agency,

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Plaintiff must pay the $350.00 filing fee and is assessed an initial partial filing fee of $22.00.

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(3)

Plaintiff’s Motion to Appoint Counsel (Doc. 5) is denied.

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(4)

The Complaint (Doc. 1) is dismissed for failure to state a claim pursuant to 28

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U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), and the Clerk of Court must enter judgment accordingly.
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The Clerk of Court must make an entry on the docket stating that the dismissal

for failure to state a claim may count as a “strike” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
(6)

The docket shall reflect that the Court certifies, pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1915(a)(3) and Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure 24(a)(3)(A), that any appeal of this

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decision would not be taken in good faith.

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DATED this 11th day of April, 2011.

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