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United States District Court

for the

Southern District of Florida

Walter James Morris, Jr., Plaintiff,

v.

Ms. Hightower, Director of the 

Medical Department for Dade C.I., 

Defendant.

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Civil Action No. 20-22502-Civ-Scola

Order

This matter is before the Court upon an independent review of the record 

and a screening of the complaint (ECF No. 1) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e) 

and 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. Plaintiff Walter James Morris, Jr., has filed a civil rights 

complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Americans with Disabilities Act 

(“ADA”) and the Rehabilitation Act, and the Plaintiff has also moved for leave to 

proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) (ECF No. 3). On October 20, 2020, United States 

Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres denied the Plaintiff’s motion for leave to 

proceed IFP because, based on the face of the complaint, Judge Torres could not 

“deem the claims to be non-frivolous . . . .” (ECF No. 11.) Specifically, the 

complaint alleges that the Medical Director for the state of Florida’s Dade 

Criminal Institution discriminated against the Plaintiff when it did not provide 

the Plaintiff with a new neck collar, wheelchair cushion and back brace because 

the Plaintiff is “gender-neutral, and not [] gender-based.” (ECF No. 1 at 2.) As 

Judge Torres noted, the Plaintiff’s gender identity “did not result from physical 

impairments,” therefore, the Plaintiff’s claims under the ADA and the 

Rehabilitation Act are “not a recognized disability” under either statute. See 

Shorter v. Barr, 2020 WL 1942785, at *10 (N.D. Fla. Mar. 13, 2020), report and

recommendation adopted, 2020 WL 1942300 (N.D. Fla. Apr. 22, 2020). In light 

of the deficiencies in the complaint, Judge Torres ordered the Plaintiff to show 

cause, by November 10, 2020, why the complaint should not be dismissed as 

frivolous. (ECF No. 11.) The Plaintiff has since responded to the show cause 

order, and the Court now reviews that response.

In response to Judge Torres’ order to show cause, the Plaintiff timely filed 

a “motion to show cause,” which the Court construes as a response to the order 

to show cause. (ECF No. 12.) However, the Plaintiff’s response does not cure the 

defects identified by Judge Torres. Even if the Court were to hold – in the absence 

of Eleventh Circuit precedent – that Gender Dysphoria, a medical condition 

codified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th 

Case 1:20-cv-22502-RNS Document 13 Entered on FLSD Docket 11/30/2020 Page 1 of 2
Edition, was a recognized disability under the ADA or Rehabilitation Act, the 

complaint still fails to allege a cause of action. In sum, the complaint demands 

that some of the medical equipment provided to the Plaintiff, such as a 

wheelchair cushion, be replaced. The response to the show cause order does not 

add any material new detail to these generic allegations. As such, the Court 

cannot find that the Plaintiff’s claims rise to the level of a constitutional violation 

under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the ADA, or the Rehabilitation Act. Again, even 

assuming (without deciding) that the ADA and Rehabilitation Act are triggered 

by Gender Dysphoria, the Plaintiff’s demands for new medical equipment do not 

appear to bear any relationship to Gender Dysphoria. Finally, in the absence of 

a clearly established right to replacement medical equipment such as a back 

brace, the Plaintiff has failed to adequately allege a violation of Section 1983.

Moreover, there are no adequate allegations showing that the Plaintiff was 

discriminated against in connection with the Plaintiff’s gender identity.

“[A] district court has the inherent authority to dismiss a patently frivolous

complaint,” even when the plaintiff has paid the required filing fee. Cuyler v.

Aurora Loan Servs., LLC, 2012 WL 10488184, at *2 (11th Cir. Dec. 3, 2012).

“A complaint is frivolous where it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact.”

Guthrie v. U.S. Government, No. 17-80390, 2017 WL 5479877, at *2 (S.D. Fla.

March 31, 2017) (Middlebrooks, J.) (citations and quotations omitted). Here,

following an opportunity to amend or show cause to avoid dismissal, the

complaint remains without arguable merit in law or in fact. As a result, this case

is dismissed under the Court’s inherent authority

The Clerk is directed to close this case and mail a copy of this Order to 

the Plaintiff at the address listed below. Any pending motions are denied as 

moot.

Done and ordered, in chambers, in Miami, Florida, on November 30, 

2020.

Robert N. Scola, Jr.

United States District Judge

Copies, via U.S. Mail, to:

Walter James Morris, Jr.

Inmate #080383

Dade Correctional Institution

Inmate Mail/Parcels

19000 SW 377th Street

Florida City, FL 33034

Case 1:20-cv-22502-RNS Document 13 Entered on FLSD Docket 11/30/2020 Page 2 of 2