* This order and judgment is not binding precedent, e xcept under the

doctrines of law of the case, res judicata and coll ateral estoppel. The court generally disfavors the citation of orders and judg ments; nevertheless, an order and judgment may be cited under the terms and condi tions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3. 

## F I L E D United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit 

### FEB 4 2005 

### PATRICK FISHER Clerk UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

TENTH CIRCUIT

GRAYLING CHURN, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v. RON WARD, individually, and as Director of Department of Corrections, Defendant-Appellee. No. 04-6132 (Western District of Oklahoma) (D.C. No. CV-03-449-M)

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

Before EBEL , MURPHY , and McCONNELL , Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and the appellate record , this court has determined unanimously that oral argument would notmaterially assist the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). Accordingly, the case is ordered submitted without oral argument.-2-

Proceeding pro se , Grayling Churn appeals the district court’s dismi ssal of the civil rights complaint he brought pursuant to 4 2 U.S.C. § 1983. Churn, an Oklahoma state prisoner, complains that Defendant d eprived him of his personal property without due process of law. Churn asserts that he purchased a color television set with his own funds and that official s at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary permitted him to keep the television i n his cell. When Churn was transferred to the Oklahoma State Reformatory, he w as told that because of a drop in his earned credit level, he was no longer permitted to keep the television in his cell. The television is currently being stored in the property room at the Oklahoma State Reformatory. Defendant moved to dismiss Churn’s complaint. The district court granted the motion, concluding that the complaint failed to state a claim for which relief may be granted. Specifically, the court first rule d that Churn had no constitutionally protect interest in possessing a t elevision in his cell. Hatten v. White , 275 F.3d 1208, 1210 (10th Cir. 2002) (“While an i nmate’s ownership of property is a protected property interest that may not be infringed without due process, there is a difference between the right to own property and the right to possess property while in prison.”). The district court concluded thatChurn’s due process claim also failed because the confiscation of his television did not-3-

impose an “atypical and significant hardship” on him. Cosco v. Uphoff , 195 F.3d 1221, 1223-24 (10th Cir. 1999). We have reviewed the record, the appellate briefs, and the applicable law and conclude that the dismissal of Churn’s § 1983 c omplaint was proper. Accordingly, the district court’s order dismissing Churn’s complaint is affirmed for substantially the reasons stated in the magistr ate judge’s report and recommendation dated February 27, 2004 and in the d istrict court order dated April 5, 2004. Churn’s motion to proceed in forma pauperisis granted . Churn is reminded that he remains obligated to continue m aking partial payments until his appellate filing fee is paid in full. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b).
ENTERED FOR THE COURT

Michael R. Murphy Circuit Judge