Court Opinion

ID: 9380034
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-03-17 00:00:25.721853+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:15:43.605592
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-60677         Document: 00516679500             Page: 1      Date Filed: 03/16/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                      ____________
                                                                               United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                        Fifth Circuit
                                       No. 22-60677
                                      ____________                                    FILED
                                                                                 March 16, 2023
   Reggie Wilburn,                                                               Lyle W. Cayce
                                                                                      Clerk
                                                                    Plaintiff—Appellant,

                                             versus

   Shawn Word, Oktibbeha County Jail Administrator,

                                                Defendant—Appellee.
                      ______________________________

                      Appeal from the United States District Court
                        for the Northern District of Mississippi
                                USDC No. 4:22-CV-56
                      ______________________________

   Before Higginbotham, Duncan, and Wilson, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          Reggie Wilburn, Mississippi prisoner # L6954, filed a 42 U.S.C.
   § 1983 complaint for an injury sustained during a slip and fall accident while
   detained in the Oktibbeha County Jail. The district court dismissed the
   complaint with prejudice for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be
   granted. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). The district court also denied
   Wilburn postjudgment motions for recusal and reconsideration. See 28

          _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-60677            Document: 00516679500              Page: 2   Date Filed: 03/16/2023

                                             No. 22-60677

   U.S.C. §§ 144 & 455; Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(e). Wilburn has now filed a
   motion for authorization to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) on appeal, which
   constitutes a challenge to the district court’s certification that any appeal
   would not be taken in good faith because Wilburn will not present a
   nonfrivolous appellate issue. See Baugh v. Taylor, 117 F.3d 197, 202 (5th Cir.
   1997).
            Wilburn makes the conclusional assertion that the magistrate judge
   erred in denying his § 1983 action without conducting a Spears 1 hearing or
   reviewing his medical records. He also makes the conclusional assertion that
   the magistrate judge was biased. Wilburn, however, makes no attempt to
   meaningfully brief a substantive argument with respect to his claim alleging
   unconstitutional conditions of confinement. He also fails to adequately
   challenge the determination that his claim was prescribed and, alternatively,
   that he failed to state a claim of supervisory liability against the defendant.
   As such, Wilburn’s claims with respect to his § 1983 complaint and
   postjudgment motions are deemed abandoned. See Yohey v. Collins, 985 F.2d
   222, 224-25 (5th Cir. 1993); Brinkmann v. Dallas Cnty. Sheriff Abner, 813
   F.2d 744, 748 (5th Cir. 1987).
            The appeal is without arguable merit and is thus frivolous. See Howard
   v. King, 707 F.2d 215, 220 (5th Cir. 1983). Wilburn’s motion to proceed IFP
   on appeal is DENIED, and the appeal is DISMISSED. See 5th Cir. R.
   42.2. The dismissal as frivolous of this appeal counts 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). In addition, the district court’s dismissal of his original complaint
   for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted also counts as a

            _____________________
            1
                Spears v. McCotter, 766 F.2d 179 (5th Cir. 1985).

                                                   2
Case: 22-60677      Document: 00516679500          Page: 3   Date Filed: 03/16/2023

                                    No. 22-60677

   strike. See § 1915(g); Adepegba, 103 F.3d at 388. Wilburn is WARNED that
   if he accumulates three strikes, he will no longer be allowed to 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. See
   § 1915(g).

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