Carter v. Walker et al

Filing 21

ORDER denying 18 Motion for Certificate of Appealability. Signed by Judge Michael J. Reagan on 5/18/09. (acm)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS WILLIAM DALE CARTER, Plaintiff, vs. JOHN DOES, Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ORDER REAGAN, District Judge: On August 11, 2008, Plaintiff Carter, an inmate at Robinson Correctional Center, filed the above-captioned action (Doc. 1). The ten-count complaint alleges various violations of Carter's civil rights. However, Counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, and 10 did not survive threshold review under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A and were dismissed (Doc. 12). Additionally, the Court explained that Counts 7 and 8 were not sufficiently related to Count 5, such that the Court intended to sever Counts 7 and 8 into separate actions pursuant to George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 607 (7th Cir. 2007). Armed with this information, Carter opted to voluntarily dismiss Counts 7 and 8 (Docs. 16 & 17). Consequently, only Carter's claim against the John Doe Defendants in Count 5 remains pending.

Case No. 08-cv-0574-MJR

On May 11, 2009, Carter filed a "Petition for a Certificate of Appealability" so that he may challenge the dismissal of Counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, and 10 (Doc. 18). This request is premature. The Court has not entered a final judgment in this case, as Count 5 is still pending. Additionally, there is no apparent reason why the circumstances of this case would warrant an interlocutory appeal. Carter must therefore wait until the Court enters judgment on all claims before appealing the dismissal of these counts.

Accordingly, the Court hereby DENIES Carter's motion for a certificate of appealability (Doc. 18). IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED this 18th day of May 2009. s/Michael J. Reagan MICHAEL J. REAGAN United States District Judge

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