Savinell v. Epps et al

Filing 17

ORDER - Objections to report and recommendation are OVERRULED; Report and Recommendation 12 is hereby APPROVED AND ADOPTED as the opinion of the Court; Defendant Christopher Epps and Earnest Lee are DISMISSED; claims against remaining defendants will PROCEED. Signed by District Judge Michael P. Mills on 6/27/14. (cr)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
GREENVILLE DIVISION
RYAN SAVINELL,
v.

PLAINTIFF
CIVIL ACTION NO.: 4:14cv18-MPM-DAS

CHRISTOPHER EPPS, et al.,

DEFENDANTS

ORDER
This matter comes before the Court upon consideration of the file and records in this
action, including the Report and Recommendation of the United States Magistrate Judge dated
May 30, 2014, and the objections thereto.
Plaintiff objects to recommendation that Christopher Epps be dismissed from this action.
Plaintiff argues that the penitentiary’s Inmate Legal Assistance Program (ILAP) blocks his access
to the courts, because it does not allow him direct access to the law library. Specifically, he
alleges that if he had direct access to legal materials when he was first convicted of a criminal
offense in 2004, he would have had his sentence vacated and would have gone to college or
obtained employment rather than continuing to commit the criminal acts that led to the
conviction for which he is currently incarcerated. He maintains that because Christopher Epps is
the Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, he is responsible for the ILAP
system.
There is no rational connection between Plaintiff’s current conviction and the legal
assistance he received at the penitentiary in 2004. Moreover, Plaintiff has been able to initiate
this § 1983 action and currently has a federal habeas petition pending before the Court. Plaintiff

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has not demonstrated that any action of Defendant Epps has prevented him from pursuing a legal
claim. See, e.g., Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 334, 349-52 (1996) (holding that a prisoner stating a
claim for denial of access to the courts must establish a “relevant actual injury”). Plaintiff’s
objections are not well taken.
Additionally, the Court notes that Plaintiff has submitted a volume of correspondence in
this action that relates to his criminal conviction. Plaintiff has a separate habeas action pending.
This § 1983 action involves Plaintiff’s claim that Defendants failed to protect him from harm.
Accordingly, Plaintiff should limit his pleadings and correspondence in this cause number to only
address his claim that Defendants failed to protect him from harm.
Therefore, it is ORDERED:
1. That Plaintiff’s objections to the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation are
OVERRULED;
2. That the Report and Recommendation of the United States Magistrate Judge dated
May 30, 2014, is hereby APPROVED AND ADOPTED as the opinion of the Court;
3. That Defendants Christopher Epps and Earnest Lee are DISMISSED from this cause;
4. That Plaintiff’s claims against the remaining Defendants will PROCEED; and
5. That Plaintiff limit his filings under this cause number to those pleadings addressing
his claim that Defendants failed to protect him from harm, and that the Clerk place any
documents not styled as a motion or other pleading in Plaintiff’s correspondence file.
THIS the 27th day of June, 2014.
/s/ Michael P. Mills
MICHAEL P. MILLS
U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE
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