Opinion ID: 373420
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Threatened Punishment

Text: 26 In this claim, Rhodes charges that defendants threatened to punish him in retaliation for communicating with public officials and for filing lawsuits. The district court found these allegations vague and conclusory, and dismissed the claim. 27 The defendants' motion for summary judgment contained their first objection to the lack of specificity in this claim. At this point, the record contained not only the complaint but also defendants' answers and affidavits of the parties supporting and opposing summary judgment. In this situation, the district court should consider the entire record when determining whether a plaintiff's allegations are vague and conclusory. The purpose of the requirement of specificity in civil rights complaints is to weed out frivolous and insubstantial claims. See Rotolo v. Borough of Charleroi, 532 F.2d 920, 922 (3d Cir. 1976). This purpose is not well served by limiting consideration to the complaint and ignoring later submissions that provide the necessary specificity. 28 However uncertain Rhodes's complaint may have been, his affidavits thoroughly cure the defect. In these affidavits, he alleges that he was removed from his position in the prison library, subjected to misconduct charges in February and March of 1978, and denied treatment of an ear infection, all in retaliation for his activities in communicating with members of the Pennsylvania legislature and in filing civil rights actions against prison officials. The detailed narrative of events in these affidavits fully refutes any characterization of Rhodes's charges as vague and conclusory. Moreover, in support of his claim Rhodes might prove that these actions improperly burdened his first amendment right to communicate with members of the legislature and interfered with his due process right of access to courts for redress of violations of his civil rights. See Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817, 97 S.Ct. 1491, 52 L.Ed.2d 72 (1977); Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 94 S.Ct. 2963, 41 L.Ed.2d 935 (1974); Procunier v. Martinez, 416 U.S. 396, 94 S.Ct. 1800, 40 L.Ed.2d 224 (1974). The dismissal of this claim must be vacated.