Seiter, 501 U.S. 294, 298-302 and Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S.
825, 837 (1994)). Because Section 1983 liability hinges upon the
personal responsibility of any public official for a deprivation
of constitutional rights, Johnson has failed to state a viable
claim against either defendant.

Finally, Section 1915A(a) mandates this Court's prompt
screening of all prisoner complaints. Because Section
1915A(b) (1) expressly addresses situations such as the present,
in which the complaint “fails to state a claim upon which relief
may be granted,” this Court dismisses both the Complaint and this
action. That moots Johnson's accompanying Motion, but he should
understand that he is not excused from complying with the
directive in the second paragraph of this opinion or, relatedly,

from the future payment of the $150 filing fee.

Cth.) Slee

Milton I. Shadur
Senior United States District Judge

Date: October 10, 2003



beginning April 1, 2003.

All such statements must be transmitted to this Court on or
before October 31, 2003, at which point this Court anticipates
the entry of an appropriate order dealing with the subject of the
initial and subsequent installment payments on account of the
$150 fee.

To turn to the merits of Johnson's substantive claim, it
addresses a situation of overcrowding that is confronted by every
jail in the Chicagoland area. While being assigned to sleep on
the floor of a custodial institution is doubtless unpleasant,
Johnson fails to allege any injury resulting from his having to
do so. And being so assigned is not of itself enough to give
rise to an arguable due process claim of punishment (see, among
the many cases that have dealt with like complaints, Hines v.
Sheahan, 845 F.Supp. 1265, 1269 (N.D. Ill. 1994) and Powell v.
Cook County Jail, 815 F.Supp. 757, 759 (N.D. Ill. 1993)).

Moreover, it must be recognized that neither Sheriff Ward
nor Superintendent Nowak is in a position to cure or to control
the overcrowding conditions that they must deal with. Johnson
has failed to show either that the conditions to which he was
subjected were an extreme deprivation constituting punishment in
the constitutional sense (Hudson v. McMillian, 503 U.S. 1, 9
(1992)) or that either defendant acted with deliberate

indifference to his basic human needs (see, e.g., Wilson v.


«¢__ Minute Order form (06/97)

y

United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois

Name of Assigned Judge Milton I. Shadur Sitting Judge if Other
or Magistrate Judge * than Assigned Judge
CASE NUMBER 03 C7144 DATE 10/10/2003
CASE Duncan Johnson #R20787 vs. Brendan Ward, et al
TITLE
[ln the following box (a) indicate the party filing the motion, e-g., plaintiff, defendant, 3rd party plaintiff, and (b) state briefly the nature

MOTION: of the motion being presented.)

DOCKET ENTRY: a

(1) Oo Filed motion of [ use listing in “Motion” box above],

} t

Qe a Brief in support of motion due :

@) ia Answer brief to motion due Reply to answer brief due

(4) QO Ruling/Hearing on set for _at

(5) oO Status hearing[held/continued to] [set for/re-set for] on set for at

(6) oO Pretrial conference[held/continued to] [set for/re-set for] on set for at :

(7) Oo Trial{set for/re-set for] on at

(8) Oo [Bench/Jury trial] [Hearing] held/continued to at

(9) oO This case is dismissed [with/without] prejudice and without costs[by/agreement/pursuant to]

OFRCP4(m) CO Local Rule 41.1 OC FRCP41(@)(1) O FRCP41(a)(2).

(io) =o [Other docket entry] Enter Memorandum Opinion and Order. Johnson’s application to proceed
without prepayment of the $150 filing fee is granted, although 28 U.S.C. 1915(b)(1) obligates him to pay
that amount in full- - but in future installments. (3-1) Johnson is to submit his trust fund statements to this
Court on or before October 31, 2003. Because Section 1915A(b)(1) expressly addresses situations such
as the present, in which the complaint “fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted,” this court
dismisses both the complaint and this action. That moots Johnson’s accompanying motion. (4-1)

dl) ff [For further detail see order attached to the original minute order.] 7

No notices required, advised in open court. K > Document
No notices required. number of notices Number
~ | Notices mailed by judge's staff. Co" 44 ong
Notified counsel by telephone. date docketed
Docketing to mail notices.
Mail AO 450 form. dockehing tena Mats
Copy to judge/magistrate judge.
10/10/2003
courtroom dare mailed notice
SN deputy’s sx
initials
mailing depoty initials



IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS " .
EASTERN DIVISION : j

DUNCAN JOHNSON #R20787, gui 442003
laintiff,
v. No. 03 C 7144

BRENDAN D. WARD, et al.,

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Duncan Johnson (“Johnson”) has tendered a self-prepared 42
U.S.C. §1983 (“Section 1983”) Complaint* against Will County
Sheriff Brendan Ward and Jail Superintendent Martin Nowak,
claiming a violation of Johnson's constitutional rights when as a
pretrial detainee he had to sleep on a mattress on the floor in
three different locations in the Will County Jail, as well as
having to spend two other days in a holding cell there with a
blanket rather than appropriate bedding (the total time period
involved in all of those incidents was just under a month).
Johnson has accompanied his Complaint with a form of Application
To Proceed Without Prepayment of Fees (“Application”) and a form
of Motion for Appointment of Counsel (“Motion”), in each instance
using court-provided forms.

To begin with, the Application is granted to the extent that

1 “Self-prepared” is used here to denote a complaint that

has used the form provided by this District Court's Clerk's _
Office for the use of persons in custody, with all of the
appropriate information having been filled in by Johnson in 4
handwritten form.


Johnson is excused from the prepayment of the $150 filing fee,
although 28 U.S.C. §1915(b) (1) obligates him to pay that amount
in full--but in future installments. In that respect, Johnson
has not provided this Court with the documents required by
Section 1915(a) (2) to enable this Court to ascertain the initial
payment on account of the filing fee that Section 1915 (b) (1)
requires:

1. Although the Application does reflect that Johnson
has no funds on deposit at Vandalia Correctional Center
(“Vandalia”), where he is now in custody, the certificate
from an official there states that Johnson did not arrive at
Vandalia until September 19, 2003. Even so, Johnson must
obtain a printout of his trust fund account from the
Vandalia authorities covering any transactions since his
September 19 arrival (because funds may have been
transferred to Vandalia from his previous custodial location
since then, and that would enter into the required statutory
calculation).

2. Because Section 1915(a) (2) requires such
information covering the entire six-month period immediately
preceding the filing of a complaint, Johnson must also
obtain printouts showing the transactions in his inmate
trust fund account at any other institution or institutions

where he may have been held in custody during the period