Drummond v. Hall et al

Filing 14

ORDER vacating 11 Report and Recommendations. Signed by Magistrate Judge Brian K. Epps on 10/13/2017. (maa)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
DUBLIN DIVISION
ARTHUR GLENN DRUMMOND,

)
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Plaintiff,
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v.
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CV 317-041
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PHILLIP HALL, Warden;
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BARBARA GRANT, Unit Manager;
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FREDRICK JOHNSON, Unit Manager;
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LISA FOUNTAIN, Interim Manager; and
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SHELAND CRAY, CO II, Officer,
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Defendants.
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_________
ORDER
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Plaintiff, currently incarcerated at Telfair State Prison (“TSP”) in Helena, Georgia, is
proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights case.

In a Report and

Recommendation (“R&R”) dated September 25, 2017, the Court recommended dismissing the
case because Plaintiff failed to keep a current address on file, as required by the Court’s Order
dated July 28, 2017. (See doc. no. 11.) This recommendation was based on mail that had been
returned as “undeliverable” to Plaintiff at TSP. (See doc. no. 10.)
In his objections, Plaintiff argues he has never left TSP, and the returned mail was a result
of prison officials mishandling his mail. (Doc. no. 13.) As the Court’s prior recommendation for
dismissal was based on the failure to keep the Court informed of a current address, and Plaintiff
has now explained that the returned mail was the product of a mistake in the prison mailroom
rather than any dilatory action on his part, the Court VACATES it prior R&R. (Doc. no. 11.)

The Court will screen Plaintiff’s amended complaint in accordance with 28 U.S.C.
§§ 1915(e)(2)(B) and 1915A(b) in its normal course of business.
Plaintiff also attached an “Order to Show Cause” to his objections which purports to tell
Defendants to stop “abusing, torturing and denying plaintiff of his rights” because he filed this
lawsuit. (Doc. no. 13, p. 3.) To the extent Plaintiff wants the Court to take a specific action in
his case, he must file a properly captioned motion. In re Unsolicited Letters to Federal Judges,
120 F. Supp. 2d 1073, 1074 (S.D. Ga. 2000) (“[I]f a litigant seeks judicial action of any sort .
. . it must be contained within a motion arising from a properly filed lawsuit.”). In any event,
the law is well-settled that retaliating against an inmate for filing a lawsuit is
unconstitutional. See Williams v. Brown, 347 F. App’x 429, 435-36 (11th Cir. 2009);
Wright v. Newsome, 795 F.2d 964, 968 (11th Cir. 1986). Thus, any request in a properlyfiled motion for an order prohibiting any Defendant or staff member at TSP from retaliating
against Plaintiff would serve little purpose, as it would amount to nothing more than a
request for the issuance of an instruction to “obey the law” — a duty already in place. See
Burton v. City of Belle Glade, 178 F.3d 1175, 1201 (11th Cir. 1999) (refusing to issue order
which would amount to broad instruction to simply “obey the law”).
SO ORDERED this 13th day of October, 2017, at Augusta, Georgia.

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