Wilson v. Texas Department of Criminal Justice et al

Filing 109

ORDER ADOPTING 102 Report and Recommendations; granting 84 Motion for Summary Judgment, filed by Windham School District, Texas State Library, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, University of Texas - Medical Branch; granting 106 Motion for Leave to File Excess Pages filed by Burnice Wilson. The complaint is DISMISSED with prejudice. All motions not previously ruled on are DENIED. Signed by Judge Leonard Davis on 09/18/12. cc:pltf & dfts 9-18-12(mll, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
TYLER DIVISION

BURNICE WILSON, #1119054

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VS.

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TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL
JUSTICE, ET AL.

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CIVIL ACTION NO. 6:11cv245

ORDER OF DISMISSAL
Plaintiff Burnice Wilson, a legally blind inmate previously confined at the Michael Unit of
the Texas prison system, proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, filed the above-styled and
numbered lawsuit pursuant to Title II of the Americans with Diabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101,
et seq., and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 700, et. seq., against the Texas Department
of Criminal Justice, the University of Texas - Medical Branch, the Windham School District and
the Texas State Library. The lawsuit was referred to United States Magistrate Judge Judith K.
Guthrie, who concluded that the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment should be granted.
Wilson has filed objections.
The Report of the Magistrate Judge, which contains her proposed findings of fact and
recommendations for the disposition of such action, has been presented for consideration, and
having made a de novo review of the objections raised by Wilson to the Report, the Court is of the
opinion that the findings and conclusions of the Magistrate Judge are correct and Wilson’s
objections are without merit.

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Wilson sought declaratory and injunctive relief with respect to the accommodations that
were being afforded to him at the Michael Unit in light of his disability. Magistrate Judge Guthrie
found that the Defendants had provided Wilson with reasonable accommodations to achieve
program and service accessibility. Moreover, in light of the accommodations, he had not been
excluded from participation in or been denied the benefit of services, programs or activities. The
Court finds that Wilson’s objections as to these findings lack merit, therefore the Court hereby
adopts the findings and conclusions of the Magistrate Judge as the findings and conclusions of the
Court.
The Court further notes that the primary prison unit for blind inmates is the Estelle Unit in
Huntsville, Texas. Wilson acknowledged that he had better access to programs for blind inmates
at the Estelle Unit, but he was transferred at his request to the Michael Unit in order to participate
in Native American religious programming. At the time the lawsuit was filed, the Estelle Unit was
not one of the units that provided Native American religious programming. The Estelle Unit
subsequently added Native American religious programming, thus Wilson was transferred back to
the Estelle Unit on or about July 30, 2012. Since Wilson sought only injunctive and declaratory
relief with respect to the accommodations provided to him at the Michael Unit, his lawsuit became
moot upon his transfer to the Estelle Unit. Herman v. Holiday, 238 F.3d 660, 665 (5th Cir. 2001);
Cooper v. Sheriff, Lubbock County, Tex., 929 F.2d 1078, 1084 (5th Cir. 1991). To the extent that
he may have complaints about conditions at the Estelle Unit, such claims should be brought in the
Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. It is accordingly
ORDERED that the Report and Recommendation (docket entry #102) is ADOPTED. It
is further
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ORDERED that Defendants’ motion for summary judgment (docket entry #84) is
GRANTED. It is further
ORDERED that the complaint is DISMISSED with prejudice. It is further
ORDERED that Wilson’s motion to exceed page limit (docket entry #106) with respect to
his objections is GRANTED. It is finally
ORDERED that all motions not previously ruled on are hereby DENIED.
So ORDERED and SIGNED this 18th day of September, 2012.

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LEONARD DAVIS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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