Court Opinion

ID: 9910494
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-12-15 19:00:39.824515+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:53:09.091276
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-20236         Document: 00517003328             Page: 1      Date Filed: 12/15/2023

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

                                      ____________                                     FILED
                                                                               December 15, 2023
                                       No. 23-20236                               Lyle W. Cayce
                                     Summary Calendar                                  Clerk
                                     ____________

   Andrew Burke,

                                                                     Plaintiff—Appellant,

                                             versus

   Lieutenant Scott Soland,

                                                Defendant—Appellee.
                      ______________________________

                      Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the Southern District of Texas
                                USDC No. 4:23-CV-300
                      ______________________________

   Before Higginbotham, Stewart, and Southwick, Circuit
   Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          Andrew Burke, a pretrial detainee at the Fort Bend County Jail
   (Inmate # 00242515), filed a civil rights complaint against Lieutenant Scott
   Soland complaining of verbal threats and unwanted touching. The district
   court determined that the complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief

         _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-20236      Document: 00517003328           Page: 2     Date Filed: 12/15/2023

                                     No. 23-20236

   may be granted, and it dismissed the complaint with prejudice pursuant to 28
   U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1).
          To avoid a dismissal for failure to state a claim upon which relief may
   be granted, a civil rights complaint must allege enough factual content to
   allow the court to draw a reasonable and non-speculative inference that the
   defendant is liable for the alleged misconduct. See Carlucci v. Chapa, 884
   F.3d 534, 537-38 (5th Cir. 2018). The plaintiff’s alleged facts will be accepted
   as true and viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Id. at 537.
          Here, the district court concluded that Burke’s allegations of verbal
   threats and unwanted touching, if true, did not amount to a constitutional
   violation. See Hudson v. McMillian, 503 U.S. 1, 9-10 (1992); Calhoun v.
   Hargrove, 312 F.3d 730, 734 (5th Cir. 2002).
          On appeal, Burke merely reiterates his factual allegations, and he
   complains without explanation that the district court “ignored very clear
   evidence.” Burke’s conclusional arguments do not show that the district
   court erred in determining that the complaint failed to state a claim upon
   which relief may be granted. See § 1915A(b)(1).
          Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.
   Burke has moved for appointment of counsel and for a restraining order. The
   motions are DENIED.
          A prisoner is precluded from bringing a civil action or an appeal of a
   judgment in a civil action in forma pauperis (IFP) if he has, on three or more
   occasions, while incarcerated or detained in a facility, brought an action or
   appeal that was dismissed as frivolous or malicious or for failure to state a
   claim. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). The district court’s dismissal of the
   complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted counts
   as a strike under § 1915(g). See id.; see also Coleman v. Tollefson, 575 U.S. 532,
   537 (2015). Court records show that Burke has no fewer than four other

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Case: 23-20236      Document: 00517003328          Page: 3   Date Filed: 12/15/2023

                                    No. 23-20236

   strikes. See, e.g., Burke v. Ft. Bend Cnty. Sheriff’s Office, No. 4:22-CV-2577
   (S.D. Tex. Nov. 3, 2022); Burke v. Diaz, No. 4:23-CV-332 (S.D. Tex. Feb. 2,
   2023); Burke v. Chesser, No. 4:23-CV-842 (S.D. Tex. Mar. 14, 2023); Burke
   v. Webb, No. 4:22-CV-4366 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 27, 2023).
          Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Burke is BARRED from
   proceeding 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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