Hopson v. Caskey et al
Filing
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OPINION AND ORDER Dismissing civil action as frivolous and will be counted as a strike.. Signed by Judge Tom S. Lee on 9/21/06. (Beard, M)
Hopson v. Caskey et al
Doc. 7
Case 4:06-cv-00090-TSL-JCS
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Filed 09/21/2006
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI EASTERN DIVISION MARK HOPSON, #72592 VERSUS CIVIL ACTION NO. PLAINTIFF 4:06cv090TSL-JCS
WARDEN CASKEY, UNKNOWN GRAHAM, UNKNOWN MOORE, UNKNOWN NOEL, CHRIS EPPS, UNKNOWN BUSH, AND UNKNOWN ATWOOD OPINION AND ORDER This cause is before the court, sua sponte, for consideration of dismissal.
DEFENDANTS
Plaintiff Mark Hopson is an inmate
at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility (EMCF), Meridian, Mississippi. § 1983. He has filed this complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C.
According to page 2 of the complaint, the defendants are The other named
Warden Caskey, Ms. Noel, and Christopher Epps. people are witnesses.
The plaintiff seeks as relief monetary
damages and that he be transferred to Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF) or a facility of his choice. Background The plaintiff states that he has been asking for a transfer from the EMCF to another facility since 2003. On March 24, 2006,
the plaintiff states in his complaint that he was informed by Dr. Bass that Parchman had "turn[ed] down [the plaintiff's] transfer." CMCF. The plaintiff then requested to be transferred to
He was told that he would be transferred to another
facility at a later time after he had been evaluated by the treatment team. According to the allegations, there have been
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Case 4:06-cv-00090-TSL-JCS
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several inmates transferred from EMCF and other inmates transferred into EMCF. Even though the plaintiff has been told
that he would be transferred to another facility, he still remains at EMCF. Analysis The Prison Litigation Reform Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) (as amended), applies to prisoner proceedings in forma pauperis and provides that "the court shall dismiss the case at any time if
the court determines that . . .(B) the action or appeal -(i) is frivolous or malicious; (ii) fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted; or (iii) seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief." Since the
plaintiff was granted in forma pauperis status, Section 1915(e)(2) applies to the instant case. The plaintiff's claim
concerning being housed in a particular facility is frivolous1; therefore this complaint shall be dismissed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1915(e)(2)(B)(i), with prejudice. It is clear that the plaintiff does not have a constitutionally protected right to be housed in a particular facility while incarcerated. Sandin v. Conner, 515 U.S. 472, 115
S. Ct. 2293, 32 L.Ed. 2d 418 (1995) (citing Meachum v. Fano, 427
A case that is found to be legally frivolous is one that seeks to assert a "right" or address a "wrong" clearly not recognized by federal law. See, e.g., Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319 (1989). 2
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U.S. 215 (1976)).
A constitutionally protected liberty interest
will be "limited to freedom from restraint which . . . imposes atypical and significant hardships on the inmate in relation to the ordinary incidents of prison life." Id. at 484. Since the
placement at a certain institution is not an "atypical and significant hardship", there has been no constitutionally protected right created. The Mississippi statute governing
commitments to the Department of Corrections establishes that a person is committed to the "department, not to a particular institution or facility." (1972), as amended. MISSISSIPPI CODE ANNOTATED § 47-5-110
The defendants' decision to house the
plaintiff at EMCF instead of a facility of the plaintiff's choosing does not violate his constitutional rights. Conclusion It is clear that there is no constitutionally protected right to be placed in a certain facility. Therefore, the
plaintiff cannot maintain this civil action and it will be dismissed as frivolous. Three-Strikes provision Since this case is dismissed pursuant to the above mentioned provision of the Prison Litigation Reform Act, it will be counted as a "strike". See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). If the plaintiff
receives "three strikes" he will be denied in forma pauperis
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status and required to pay the full filing fee to file a civil action or appeal. A final judgment will be entered in accordance with this opinion and order. SO ORDERED this the 21st day of September, 2006. /s/ Tom S. Lee UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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