Matherly v. Seal
Matherly v. Seal
Opinion
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
__________________
No. 95-30039 Conference Calendar __________________
DANNY McCRAY MATHERLY, Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
DONNIE R. SEAL AND ED C. DAY, Defendants,
DONNIE SEAL, Defendant-Appellee.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
____________________
No. 95-30040 Conference Calendar ____________________
DANNY McCRAY MATHERLY, Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
DONNIE R. SEAL AND ED C. DAY, Defendants-Appellees.
- - - - - - - - - - Appeals from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana USDC No. 94-CV-1168 F - - - - - - - - - - August 22, 1995
Before KING, JOLLY, and WIENER, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
* Local Rule 47.5 provides: "The publication of opinions that have no precedential value and merely decide particular cases on the basis of well-settled principles of law imposes needless expense on the public and burdens on the legal Nos. 95-30039 & 95-30040 -2-
Danny M. Matherly, a prisoner in the Washington Correctional
Institute, filed a complaint under
42 U.S.C. § 1983alleging that
prison guard Donnie R. Seal searched Matherly's foot locker and
rifled his files. The dismissal of this suit is the subject of
case number 95-30039. The parties agreed to proceed before a
magistrate judge under
28 U.S.C. § 636(c). The district court's
findings of fact are reviewed for clear error; matters of law are
reviewed de novo. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 52; Valencia v. Wiggins,
981 F.2d 1440, 1449(5th Cir.), cert. denied,
113 S. Ct. 2998(1993).
The district court was correct in concluding that Matherly
has no Fourth Amendment protection against an unreasonable search
of his prison cell. Hudson v. Palmer,
468 U.S. 517, 526(1984).
Matherly did not specifically allege that anything had been
removed from the files or that the inspection of the files had
hampered his legal activities. As such, Matherly has failed to
state "a cognizable constitutional claim either for a denial of
access to the courts or for denial of [his] right to free speech
by alleging that [his] . . . legal mail was opened and inspected
for contraband outside [his] presence." Brewer v. Wilkinson,
3 F.3d 816, 825(5th Cir. 1993) (case addressed incoming legal
mail), cert. denied,
114 S. Ct. 1081(1994).
The district court's denial of his motion to proceed on IFP
is the subject of Matherly's appeal in case number 95-30040. The
profession." Pursuant to that Rule, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published. Nos. 95-30039 & 95-30040 -3-
district court was correct in denying IFP as moot because
Matherly had already been granted IFP status.
AFFIRMED.
Reference
- Status
- Unpublished