Cooper v. Lee

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE AT CHATTANOOGA MONOLITO B. COOPER, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) Case No. 1:24-cv-49 v. ) ) Judge Atchley ) BILL LEE, et al., ) Magistrate Judge Steger ) Defendants. ) ) ORDER On February 24, 2025, United States Magistrate Judge Christopher H. Steger filed a Report and Recommendation [Doc. 17] pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636 and the Rules of this Court. The Magistrate Judge recommends that: (1) Plaintiff’s claims against Bill Lee, in his official capacity as Governor of Tennessee, be DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE; (2) Plaintiff’s claims regarding the validity of his criminal convictions due to registry violations and his consequent status as a career criminal be DISMISSED for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; (3) Plaintiff’s claim that the Tennessee Sexual Offender Registration and Monitoring Act (“SORMA”) and the Violent Sexual Offender Registration, Verification, and Tracking Act (“SORA”) violate his Constitutional rights as ex post facto laws SURVIVE SCREENING because Plaintiff has stated a potentially viable claim upon which relief can be granted; and (4) the Clerk of Court issue service packets to Plaintiff to complete and return to the Clerk of Court. Plaintiff has not filed an objection to the Report and Recommendation.1 The Court has nonetheless reviewed the Report Magistrate Judge Steger advised that the parties had 14 days in which to object to the Report and Recommendation and that failure to do so would waive any right to appeal. (Doc. 17 at 6 n.4); see FED. R. CIV. P. 72(b)(2); see also Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140, 148-51 (1985) (“It does not appear that Congress intended to require district court and Recommendation, as well as the record, and agrees with Magistrate Judge Steger’s well- reasoned conclusions.

Accordingly, the Court ACCEPTS and ADOPTS Magistrate Judge Steger’s findings of fact and conclusions of law as set forth in the Report and Recommendation [Doc. 17] and hereby ORDERS the following: 1. Plaintiff's claims against Bill Lee, in his official capacity as Governor of Tennessee, are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.

2. Plaintiff's claims regarding the validity of his criminal convictions due to registry violations and his consequent status as a career criminal are DISMISSED for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

3. Plaintiff's claim that SORMA and SORA violate his Constitutional rights as ex post facto laws SURVIVES SCREENING because Plaintiff has stated a potentially viable claim upon which relief can be granted.

4. The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to issue service packets to Plaintiff to complete and return to the Clerk of Court.

SO ORDERED. /s/ Charles E. Atchley, Jr. CHARLES E. ATCHLEY, JR. UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE review of a magistrate judge’s factual or legal conclusions, under a de novo or any other standard, when neither party objects to those findings.”).