Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca4-15-06216/USCOURTS-ca4-15-06216-0/pdf.json

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

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UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 15-6216

BUTCHIE J. STEMPLE,

Plaintiff - Appellant,

v.

BOBBY P. SHEARIN, Warden; KEITH K. ARNOLD, Chief; KEVIN 

LAMP, Chaplain,

Defendants - Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of 

Maryland, at Baltimore. Ellen L. Hollander, District Judge. 

(1:14-cv-01739-ELH)

Submitted: June 30, 2015 Decided: July 29, 2015

Before NIEMEYER and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior 

Circuit Judge.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Butchie J. Stemple, Appellant Pro Se. Stephanie Judith LaneWeber, Assistant Attorney General, Baltimore, Maryland, for 

Appellees.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:

Butchie J. Stemple appeals the district court’s order 

granting summary judgment to Appellees on his 42 U.S.C. § 1983

(2012) claims. We have reviewed the record and find no 

reversible error. Accordingly, we deny Stemple’s motion for 

appointment of counsel and affirm substantially on the reasoning 

of the district court.* Stemple v. Shearin, No. 1:14-cv-01739-

ELH (D. Md. Feb. 3, 2015). We dispense with oral argument 

because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented 

in the materials before this court and argument would not aid 

the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

 * Although Stemple’s claim for equitable relief may not have 

been barred by Appellees’ qualified immunity, see Wall v. Wade, 

741 F.3d 492, 497 n.9 (4th Cir. 2014) (noting that qualified 

immunity is inapplicable to claims for equitable relief), we 

conclude that the claim nevertheless fails on the merits. See

Republican Party of N.C. v. Martin, 980 F.2d 943, 952 (4th Cir. 

1992) (“[W]e may affirm a judgment for any reason appearing on

the record.”). See generally Wall, 741 F.3d at 498-99 

(providing test for determining when prison policy violates 

First Amendment).

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