Court Opinion

ID: 9411024
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-07-25 17:13:34.318511+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:21:02.308495
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-40086         Document: 00516832178             Page: 1      Date Filed: 07/25/2023

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

                                      ____________                                      FILED
                                                                                      July 25, 2023
                                       No. 23-40086                               Lyle W. Cayce
                                     Summary Calendar                                  Clerk
                                     ____________

   Tora Lakeith Russell,

                                                                     Plaintiff—Appellant,

                                             versus

   Merissa Jackson, Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional
   Division, Regional Director; Texas Department of Criminal
   Justice, Institutional Division; Bryan Collier, Executive Director;
   Roscoe Pettus, Inmate,

                                               Defendants—Appellees.
                      ______________________________

                      Appeal from the United States District Court
                           for the Eastern District of Texas
                                USDC No. 1:22-CV-171
                      ______________________________

   Before Stewart, Graves, and Oldham, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          Tora Lakeith Russell, Texas prisoner # 1632168, filed a 42 U.S.C.
   § 1983 complaint for an injury sustained during an altercation with another
   inmate. The district court dismissed Russell’s complaint for failure to state

         _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-40086        Document: 00516832178         Page: 2     Date Filed: 07/25/2023

                                     No. 23-40086

   a claim upon which relief may be granted. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. Russell
   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 Russell will not
   present a nonfrivolous appellate issue. See Baugh v. Taylor, 117 F.3d 197, 202
   (5th Cir. 1997).
          Russell fails to explain how the Texas Department of Criminal
   Justice’s (TDCJ) alleged interference with the prison grievance process in
   2019 prevented him from timely filing his complaint by March 21, 2021. See
   Yohey v. Collins, 985 F.2d 222, 224-25 (5th Cr. 1993); Brinkmann v. Dallas
   Cnty. Sheriff Abner, 813 F.2d 744, 748 (5th Cir. 1987); see also Coleman v.
   Lincoln Par. Det. Ctr., 858 F.3d 307, 309 (5th Cir. 2017) (holding “even for
   pro se plaintiffs . . . ‘conclusory allegations or legal conclusions masquerading
   as factual conclusions will not suffice’ to state a claim for relief” (citation
   omitted)). Even if Russell’s action was deemed timely, he does not challenge
   the district court’s alternative reasoning for dismissing his action, i.e., his
   claim of supervisory liability against Merissa Jackson and Bryan Collier is
   conclusory, the TDCJ is entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity, and the
   inmate involved in the stabbing incident is not a state actor subject to liability
   under § 1983. Accordingly, Russell’s claims are deemed abandoned. See
   Yohey, 985 F.2d at 224-25; Brinkmann, 813 F.2d at 748.
          The appeal is without arguable merit and is thus frivolous. See Howard
   v. King, 707 F.2d 215, 220 (5th Cir. 1983). Russell’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, 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

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Case: 23-40086      Document: 00516832178          Page: 3   Date Filed: 07/25/2023

                                    No. 23-40086

   strike. See § 1915(g); Adepegba, 103 F.3d at 388. Russell 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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