Opinion ID: 373420
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Profiteering on the Photocopying Machine

Text: 16 In this claim, Rhodes alleges that the prisoners paid a price for photocopying that resulted in a profit to the prison administration. He claims that this profiteering violated his rights under the Constitution and under Pennsylvania law. 17 It is conceivable that profiteering on a prison photocopier could make copying prohibitively expensive and effectively deny prisoners the enjoyment of certain constitutional rights, such as free speech or access to courts. See Part II Supra; McDonald v. Illinois, 557 F.2d 596, 603 (7th Cir.), Cert. denied, 434 U.S. 966, 98 S.Ct. 508, 54 L.Ed.2d 453 (1977). However, we find no basis in the Constitution or federal law for challenging transactions between a prison and its inmates simply because the transactions return a profit to the prison administration. 18 Rhodes does not allege that the profit-making had any impact on his constitutional rights aside from the asserted right to make photocopies at a price that does not include a profit margin. He, therefore, fails to state a claim under federal law. Whether or not he states a claim under Pennsylvania law is irrelevant. Absent a cause of action arising under federal law, the district court lacked pendent jurisdiction to hear a state law claim. United Mine Workers v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715, 725, 86 S.Ct. 1130, 16 L.Ed.2d 218 (1966). 19