Court Opinion

ID: 9387794
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-04-19 00:00:23.914414+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:18:15.540402
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-30418        Document: 00516716720             Page: 1      Date Filed: 04/18/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit                                United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                Fifth Circuit

                                     ____________                             FILED
                                                                          April 18, 2023
                                      No. 22-30418                        Lyle W. Cayce
                                    Summary Calendar                           Clerk
                                    ____________

   Morgan Ratley,

                                                                    Plaintiff—Appellant,

                                            versus

   Karla Beck; Craig Webre; Cantrell Davis,

                                              Defendants—Appellees.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                        for the Eastern District of Louisiana
                              USDC No. 2:21-CV-2362
                     ______________________________

   Before Smith, Southwick, and Douglas, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam:*
         Morgan Ratley, a pretrial detainee in the Lafourche Parish
   Correctional Complex, appeals the dismissal of his Section 1983 civil rights
   complaint as frivolous. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2); 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(c)(1).
   He contends that his claims concerning his 28-month confinement in

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-30418      Document: 00516716720           Page: 2   Date Filed: 04/18/2023

                                     No. 22-30418

   administrative segregation, without the requisite procedural safeguards,
   were not patently frivolous.
          We review dismissals as frivolous for an abuse of discretion. Berry v.
   Brady, 192 F.3d 504, 507 (5th Cir. 1999). With the benefit of liberal
   construction, see Jennings v. Towers Watson, 11 F.4th 335, 341 (5th Cir. 2021),
   Ratley’s pro se Section 1983 complaint contained allegations having an
   arguable basis in law and fact. See Berry, 192 F.3d at 507. Specifically,
   Ratley’s allegation that he has been in administrative segregation for 28
   months — without justification or explanation —constituted an arguable
   basis in law and fact that a protected liberty interest requiring procedural due
   process protections was violated. Butler v. S. Porter, 999 F.3d 287, 296 (5th
   Cir. 2021), cert. denied, 142 S. Ct. 766 (2022) (citation omitted).
          Additionally, his allegation that he was placed in administrative
   segregation solely because of his “charge” or “bond” sets forth an arguable
   basis in law and fact that his confinement is impermissible pretrial
   punishment or is arbitrary, rather than reasonably related to a legitimate
   penological purpose. See Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 535–39 (1979). The
   district court abused its discretion when it concluded the claims are frivolous.
          We VACATE the dismissal of Ratley’s complaint and REMAND
   to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

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