IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 09-30189

Summary Calendar

TROY JENNINGS,

Plaintiff-Appellant

v.

FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS; UNITED STATES PROBATION

DEPARTMENT, Brooklyn; UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE;

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE; CLERK, US DISTRICT COURT,

Brooklyn; JOSEPH SMITH, Warden, USP-Lewisburg; M NICHOLAS, Case

Manager, USP-Lewisburg; JOHN ADAMI, Unit Manager, USP-Lewisburg;

COUNSELOR MISS I, USP-Lewisburg; OUTLAW, Warden, USP-Beaumont;

FOX, Warden, USP-Beaumont; MCGEE, Unit Manager, USP-Beaumont; CRUZ,

Counselor, USP-Beaumont; SACHER, Unit Manager, USP-Beaumont;

J HANKS, Manager, USP-Beaumont; FREDRICK MENIFEE, Warden,

USP-Pollock; JOE KEFFER, Warden, USP-Pollock; K ENDENFIELD, Associate

Warden, USP-Pollock; CRYSTAL ZERR, C-3 Case Manager, USP-Pollock; A-4

CASE MANAGER RAY, USP-Pollock; KENDALL FRANCOIS, Counselor,

USP-Pollock; A-4 COUNSELOR LAIR, USP-Pollock; C-3 UNIT MANAGER

MONTGOMERY, USP-Pollock; A-4 UNIT MANAGER TOWNSEND,

USP-Pollock, 

Defendants-Appellees

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Western District of Louisiana

USDC No. 1:08-CV-1190

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

F I L E D

November 12, 2009

Charles R. Fulbruge III

Clerk
No. 09-30189

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.

2

Before KING, BARKSDALE, and GARZA, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Proceeding pro se, Troy Jennings, federal prisoner # 67949-053, appeals

the dismissal of his in forma pauperis (IFP) complaint, filed pursuant to Bivens

v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388

(1971) (allowing federal officials to be sued for claimed violations of

constitutional rights). The district court dismissed the claims for lack of proper

venue and for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, under 28

U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) (governing proceedings in forma pauperis).

Jennings contends the Bureau of Prisons based his custodial classification

at the United States Penitentiary in Pollock, Louisiana, on impermissible

factors, including erroneous determinations of Jennings’ history of violence and

his lack of a GED. Jennings alleges he was found not guilty of the state assault

charge upon which the court based its determination of his history of violence.

The dismissal, under § 1915(e)(2)(B), of a prisoner’s complaint for failure

to state a claim upon which relief can be granted is reviewed de novo. E.g., Berry

v. Brady, 192 F.3d 504, 507 (5th Cir. 1999). “To survive a motion to dismiss, a

complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a

claim for relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937,

1949 (2009) (citation omitted). Because there is no liberty interest in a

prisoner’s custodial classification, Wilson v. Budney, 976 F.2d 957, 958 (5th Cir.

1992), Jennings’ complaint fails to state a claim for relief. See Harris v.

Hegmann, 198 F.3d 153, 156 (5th Cir. 1999). 

Jennings also filed Bivens claims against defendants in New York,

Pennsylvania, and Texas; the district court dismissed these claims for lack of

proper venue. Jennings does not challenge the district court’s reasons for
No. 09-30189

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dismissing these claims. Accordingly, Jennings has abandoned any such

challenge. See Brinkmann v. Dallas County Deputy Sheriff Abner, 813 F.2d 744,

748 (5th Cir. 1987). 

The district court’s dismissal of Jennings’ complaint for failure to state a

claim upon which relief can be granted counts as a strike for purposes of 28

U.S.C. § 1915(g). See Adepegba v. Hammons, 103 F.3d 383, 387-88 (5th Cir.

1996). We caution Jennings: once he accumulates three strikes, he may not

proceed 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”. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).

AFFIRMED; SANCTION WARNING ISSUED.