Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-90-05125/USCOURTS-ca10-90-05125-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 550
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Civil Rights (U.S. defendant)
Cause of Action: 

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FILED 

UNITED 

United States C.ourt of Appeals 

Tenth Ci.-~,;r STATES COURT OF APPEALS 

DARELL L. GONSER, 

Plaintiff-Appellant, 

v. 

TENTH CIRCUIT 

RON CHAMPION, Warden, and HENRY 

BELLMON, Governor, 

Defendants-Appellees. 

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ORDER AND JUDGMENT* 

NOV 14 1990 

ROBERT L. HOECKER 

Clerk 

No. 90-5125 

(D.C. No. 90-C-439-B) 

( N. D • Okla. ) 

Before MCKAY, MOORE, and BRORBY, Circuit Judges. 

After examining the briefs and the appellate record, this 

three-judge panel has determined unanimously that oral argument 

would not be of material assistance in the determination of this 

appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. The 

cause is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. 

Mr. Gonser filed a civil rights complaint under 42 u.s.c. 

S 1983. The district court dismissed the complaint under 28 

* This order and judgment has no precedential value and shall 

not be cited, or used by any court within the Tenth Circuit, 

except for purposes of establishing the doctrines of the law of 

the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. 10th Cir. R. 

36.3. 

Appellate Case: 90-5125 Document: 010110051274 Date Filed: 11/14/1990 Page: 1 
u.s.c . . § 1915(d) after finding the complaint to be frivolous. Mr. 

Gonser appeals this decision. 

Mr. Gonser, an inmate in the Oklahoma prison system, filed 

his complaint prose against the governor of the State of Oklahoma 

and the warden of the Dick Connors Correctional Center where Mr. 

Gonser is currently incarcerated. Both of these defendants were 

specifically named in appellant's complaint and were sued in their 

official rather than individual capacity. While the complaint 

lacks clarity, the gist thereof seems to be that Oklahoma passed 

legislation that would reduce the amount of emergency time credits 

Mr. Gonser could receive, resulting in his having to serve a 

larger portion of his sentence. Mr. Gonser alleged that the 

effect of this amounted to a breach of his plea agreement. He 

asked for a declaratory judgment that the legislation was invalid 

and requeste~ monetary damages from each defendant. 

The district court granted Mr. Gonser's motion in forma 

pauperis and allowed him to file his complaint. The district 

court then noted that the Eleventh Amendment generally bans 

lawsuits in federal court seeking damages against state employees 

acting in their official capacity (Order at 2, citing Bishop v. 

John Doe 1, 902 F.2d 809, 810 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 111 

S. Ct. 198 (1990)), and dismissed the suit as frivolous. 

Mr. Gonser appeals prose asserting that the district court's 

action was violative of due process and ex post facto clauses of 

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Appellate Case: 90-5125 Document: 010110051274 Date Filed: 11/14/1990 Page: 2 
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both the Oklahoma and United States Constitutions and continues to 

demand money damages. 

We grant Mr. Gonser the right to proceed in forma pauperis. 

Having considered the record and Mr. Gonser's brief, we conclude 

that Mr. Gonser has made no rational argument on the law or the 

facts to overcome the decision of the district court. Nietzke v. 

Williams, 490 U.S. 319 (1989). 

decision of the district court. 

Accordingly, we AFFIRM the 

The mandate shall issue forthwith. 

Entered for the Court: 

WADE BRORBY 

United States Circuit Judge 

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Appellate Case: 90-5125 Document: 010110051274 Date Filed: 11/14/1990 Page: 3