Donald Newman v. Smith, et al.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA SOUTH BEND DIVISION DONALD NEWMAN, Plaintiff, v. No. 3:26 CV 348 SMITH, et al., Defendants.

OPINION and ORDER Donald Newman, a prisoner without a lawyer, filed a complaint alleging he has been denied access to the grievance process at his prison. (DE # 2.) “A document filed pro se is to be liberally construed, and a pro se complaint, however inartfully pleaded, must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.”

Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (quotation marks and citations omitted).

Nevertheless, under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, the court must review the merits of a prisoner complaint and dismiss it if the action is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief.

Newman alleges inmates at the Miami Correctional Facility can only file grievances electronically on their tablets. He says they no longer accept paper grievances, but he does not have a tablet and so cannot file a grievance. Newman sues for $20,000 and injunctive relief. However, “[p]rison grievance procedures are not mandated by the First Amendment and do not by their very existence create interests protected by the Due Process Clause . . ..” Owens v. Hinsley, 635 F.3d 950, 953 (7th Cir. 2011). Therefore, this complaint does not state a claim.

“The usual standard in civil cases is to allow defective pleadings to be corrected, especially in early stages, at least where amendment would not be futile.” Abu-Shawish v. United States, 898 F.3d 726, 738 (7th Cir. 2018). “District courts, however, have broad discretion to deny leave to amend a complaint where the amendment would be futile.”

Russell v. Zimmer, Inc., 82 F.4th 564, 572 (7th Cir. 2023). For the reasons previously explained, such is the case here.

For these reasons, this case is DISMISSED under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.

SO ORDERED.

Date: March 20, 2026 s/James T. Moody JUDGE JAMES T. MOODY UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT