Greene v. Lassiter

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA ASHEVILLE DIVISION CIVIL CASE NO. 1:19-cv-00224-MR

COREY DELON GREENE, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) ORDER ) ) KENNETH LASSITER, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) ___________________________ ) THIS MATTER is before the Court on the Plaintiff’s Motion for Copies. [Doc. 113].

Pro se Plaintiff Corey Delon Greene (“Plaintiff”) is a prisoner of the State of North Carolina, currently incarcerated at New Hanover Correctional Center in Wilmington, North Carolina. On July 18, 2019, Plaintiff filed this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Defendants Kenneth Lassiter, Tim Moose, Todd Ishee, Sarah Cobb, Betty Brown, and Chris Rich claiming his rights under the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”), 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-1, were violated while he was incarcerated at Avery/Mitchell Correctional Institution in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, because Defendants refused to recognize the Nation of Gods and Earth (“NGE”) as a religion and classified NGE as a Security Risk Group (SRG) for over 20 years. [Doc. 1]. The Court granted summary judgment for Defendants [Doc. 83] and the Fourth Circuit vacated the Court’s entry of summary judgment and remanded for further proceedings. Greene v. Lassiter, No. 22-6273, 2023 WL 8618519 (4th Cir. Dec. 13, 2023).

Now before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion requesting that the Court send him copies of Defendants’ recent filing in this matter [see Doc. 110: Notice of Supplemental Authority] because “[h]e has not receved [sic] a copy from the defendants.” [Doc. 113]. The Court will deny Plaintiff’s motion for copies. Plaintiff failed to include payment for the copies he requests. A litigant is ordinarily required to pay his own litigation expenses, even if he is indigent. See United States v. MacCollom, 426 U.S. 317, 321 (1976) (“The established rule is that the expenditure of public funds is proper only when authorized by Congress….”). The Court is not a copying service. If Plaintiff needs copies of documents filed in the docket in this matter, he may pay for the copies he seeks at the standard rate of $.50 per page. See https://www.ncwd.uscourts.gov/court-fees. The Court will, however, direct Defendants to consult their records to ensure that their Notice of Supplemental Authority was served on Plaintiff as reflected in the Certificate of Service attached thereto.

ORDER IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for Copies [Doc.

113] is DENIED.

The Court instructs Defendants to consult their records to ensure that proper service of the Notice of Supplemental Authority [Doc. 110] was made on Plaintiff and to timely effect service thereof if necessary.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Signed: April 22, 2024 Martifi Reidinger ey Chief United States District Judge “AES