Court Opinion

ID: 9908896
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-12-12 01:00:47.471807+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:49:35.563066
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-30337         Document: 00516996732             Page: 1      Date Filed: 12/11/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                      ____________
                                                                                United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                         Fifth Circuit
                                       No. 23-30337
                                     Summary Calendar                                  FILED
                                     ____________                              December 11, 2023
                                                                                  Lyle W. Cayce
   Reginald Jackson,                                                                   Clerk

                                                                     Plaintiff—Appellant,

                                             versus

   E. Dustin Bickham, Warden; Daniel LaFleur; Laura Allen;
   John Doe,

                                               Defendants—Appellees.
                      ______________________________

                      Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the Middle District of Louisiana
                                USDC No. 3:22-CV-1037
                      ______________________________

   Before Elrod, Haynes, and Douglas, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          Reginald Jackson, Louisiana prisoner # 764746, moves for leave to
   proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) in this appeal from the dismissal of his civil
   rights complaint as frivolous and for failure to state a claim for relief. The

          _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-30337        Document: 00516996732          Page: 2    Date Filed: 12/11/2023

                                      No. 23-30337

   motion is a challenge to the district court’s certification that the appeal is not
   taken in good faith. See Baugh v. Taylor, 117 F.3d 197, 202 (5th Cir. 1997).
          Jackson fails to address the district court’s reasons for the dismissal of
   his complaint as frivolous and for failure to state a claim. Pro se briefs are
   afforded liberal construction. See Yohey v. Collins, 985 F.2d 222, 225 (5th Cir.
   1993). Nevertheless, when an appellant fails to identify any error in the
   district court’s analysis, it is the same as if the appellant had not appealed the
   decision. Brinkmann v. Dall. Cnty. Deputy Sheriff Abner, 813 F.2d 744, 748
   (5th Cir. 1987).
          Because Jackson has failed to challenge any factual or legal aspect of
   the district court’s disposition of his claims or the certification that his appeal
   is not taken in good faith, he has abandoned the critical issue of his appeal.
   See id. Thus, the appeal lacks arguable merit. See Howard v. King, 707 F.2d
   215, 220 (5th Cir. 1983). Accordingly, the motion for leave to proceed IFP is
   DENIED, and the appeal is DISMISSED as frivolous. See Baugh, 117
   F.3d at 202 n.24; 5th Cir. R. 42.2.
          The district court’s dismissal of Jackson’s complaint and the
   dismissal of this appeal each count as a strike under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). See
   Adepegba v. Hammons, 103 F.3d 383, 388 (5th Cir. 1996), abrogated in part on
   other grounds by Coleman v. Tollefson, 575 U.S. 532, 537 (2015). Jackson is
   WARNED that if he accumulates three strikes, he will not be permitted to
   proceed IFP in any civil action or appeal filed while incarcerated or detained
   in any facility unless he is under imminent danger of serious physical injury.
   See § 1915(g).

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