Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-90-01060/USCOURTS-ca10-90-01060-0/pdf.json

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

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FI LED 

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 

TENTH CIRCUIT 

Uoited States Court of Appeals 

Tenth Cir(·nit 

AUG 2 4 1990 \ 

.ROBERT L. HOECKER 

Clerk 

ROLAND HEATH, 

Plaintiff-Appellant, 

v. 

WALTER L. KAUTZKY; JIM BRITTAIN, 

Defendants-Appellees. 

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ORDER AND JUDGMENT * 

No. 90-1060 

(D.C. No. 89-Z-1304) 

(D. Colorado) 

Before LOGAN, SEYMOUR, and TACHA, Circuit Judges. 

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel 

has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially 

assist the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 

34(a); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. 

In this appeal plaintiff Roland Heath challenges the district 

court's dismissal, as frivolous within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. 

§ 1915(d), of his complaint against Colorado state prison 

officials. Plaintiff alleged that the prison officials were 

unlawfully placing on hold for periods of four to six weeks money 

* 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: 90-1060 Document: 010110041516 Date Filed: 08/24/1990 Page: 1 
orders he received in amounts over $40.00, before allowing the 

monies to be used by him from his prison account. Materials 

submitted by the prisoner indicate that the official policy of the 

prisons is that money orders and checks for the benefit of 

particular prisoners must be made payable to the penal 

institution, and they are deposited in interest bearing accounts 

in a local bank. No interest is credited to the inmates; rather, 

the interest goes to the inmates' canteen and library fund to 

bring recreational, educational, and religious materials to the 

general prison population. Funds from all U.S. Postal money 

orders and other money orders in amounts under $40.00 are 

immediately available to inmates, but the prisons place a two-week 

hold on non-u.s. Postal money orders in excess of that amount. 

Although plaintiff's allegation is that the prison officials put 

the funds on hold for more than two weeks, none of the materials 

submitted in support of plaintiff's case demonstrated that the 

funds were held in excess of the time set out in the prison 

regulations. 

Plaintiff cites no authority, nor have we found any, that 

indicates an individual has a constitutional right to interest on 

funds deposited with an institution for his benefit and use. We 

see a rational reason to support the prison policy of not 

crediting interest earned to the individual prisoners' accounts, 

namely the bookkeeping cost of allocating amounts that would 

amount to a few cents at most. We can also see a rational basis 

for the "hold" policy, including the possibility of forged 

instruments, even money orders. We therefore agree with the 

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Appellate Case: 90-1060 Document: 010110041516 Date Filed: 08/24/1990 Page: 2 
district court that no constitutional claim was made out by the 

complaint. 

AFFIRMED. 

The mandate shall issue forthwith. 

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Entered for the Court 

James K. Logan 

Circuit Judge 

Appellate Case: 90-1060 Document: 010110041516 Date Filed: 08/24/1990 Page: 3