IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 17-11510

CHRISTOPHER H. MCCOY,

Plaintiff-Appellant

v.

D. J. HARMON, Warden; FNU STRONG, Assistant Warden; FNU 

HENDERSON, Lieutenant, SIS Supervisor; JOHN HOVDEN, Supervisor of 

Education; JESSICA WILLIAMS, Education Technician,

Defendants-Appellees

Appeals from the United States District Court

for the Northern District of Texas

USDC No. 3:16-CV-3497

Before DENNIS, GRAVES, and COSTA, Circuit Judges. 

PER CURIAM:*

Christopher H. McCoy, federal prisoner # 09150-025, moves for leave to 

appeal in forma pauperis (IFP) from the dismissal of his civil action for failure 

to state a claim. He also moves for appointment of counsel. McCoy is serving 

a 327-month sentence after pleading guilty to offenses related to child 

pornography and illicit sexual activity. See United States v. McCoy, 493 F. 

 

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not 

be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH 

CIR. R. 47.5.4.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

September 24, 2018

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

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No. 17-11510

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App’x 767, 768 (7th Cir. 2012). In his civil complaint, he contended that 

defendants associated with the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) denied him access to 

court by failing to provide timely access to a recording of an oral argument 

made on his behalf in a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 proceeding in the United States 

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He asserted that the recording was needed 

to support a motion for rehearing in the Seventh Circuit. 

Our inquiry “is limited to whether the appeal involves legal points 

arguable on their merits (and therefore not frivolous).” Howard v. King, 707 

F.2d 215, 220 (5th Cir. 1983) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). 

To prevail on a claim that he was denied access to court, McCoy must 

demonstrate that he suffered actual harm because the defendants hindered his 

ability to pursue a nonfrivolous legal claim. See Christopher v. Harbury, 536 

U.S. 403, 417 (2002); Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 351-53 & n.3 (1996). McCoy 

fails to acknowledge or address the district court’s reason for dismissal, which 

was that McCoy failed to allege any facts to show that he was deprived of the 

ability to raise a meritorious argument in his petition for rehearing en banc. 

He offers only general conclusional assertions and fails to allege facts that 

would entitle him to relief on his claim of denial of access to the courts or any 

other claim. See Harbury, 536 U.S. at 417-18. He thus identifies no 

nonfrivolous issue for appeal. See Howard, 707 F.2d at 220. 

Accordingly, McCoy’s IFP motion is DENIED and his appeal is

DISMISSED as frivolous. See Baugh v. Taylor, 117 F.3d 197, 202 & n.24 (5th 

Cir. 1997); 5TH CIR. R. 42.2. His motion for appointment of counsel is also 

DENIED. 

The dismissal by the district court and the dismissal of this appeal as 

frivolous give McCoy a total of two “strikes” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). McCoy 

is WARNED that if he accumulates three strikes he may not thereafter proceed 

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No. 17-11510

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IFP in any civil action or appeal filed while he is incarcerated or detained in 

any facility unless he is under imminent danger of serious physical injury. See

§ 1915(g).

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