Johnson v. Cortez

Case: 25-30760 Document: 44-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/24/2026

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 25-30760 Summary Calendar FILED August 24, 2026 ____________ Lyle W. Cayce Fred Johnson; Terry Mays, Clerk Plaintiffs—Appellants, versus Patrick Page Cortez, President of the Senate of the Louisiana Legislature of the State of Louisiana; Clay Schexnayder, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Louisiana Legislature of the State of Louisiana; John Bel Edwards, Governor of the State of Louisiana, Defendants—Appellees. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana USDC No. 3:23-CV-1542 ______________________________ Before Jones, Ho, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges.

Per Curiam:* Fred Johnson, Louisiana prisoner # 133017, and Terry Mays, Louisiana prisoner # 108167, move for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) in their appeal of the district court’s sua sponte dismissal of their Case: 25-30760 Document: 44-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/24/2026

No. 25-30760 complaint for failure to state a claim. The motion is a challenge to the district court’s certification that the appeal is not taken in good faith. See Baugh v. Taylor, 117 F.3d 197, 202 (5th Cir. 1997).

Johnson and Mays argue only that the district court denied them the opportunity to seek reconsideration of the orders that denied their respective applications to proceed IFP on appeal by failing to provide them with the order denying IFP status. They fail to make the requisite showing that they will present a nonfrivolous argument for appeal. See Howard v. King, 707 F.2d 215, 220 (5th Cir. 1983).

Because Johnson and Mays have otherwise failed to meaningfully challenge any factual or legal aspect of the district court’s disposition of their claims and dismissal of their complaint, they have abandoned the critical issue of their appeal. See Brinkmann v. Dallas Cnty. Deputy Sheriff Abner, 813 F.2d 744, 748 (5th Cir. 1987). Thus, the appeal lacks arguable merit. See Howard, 707 F.2d at 220. Accordingly, Johnson’s and Mays’s respective motions for leave to proceed IFP are DENIED, and the appeal is DISMISSED as frivolous. See Baugh, 117 F.3d at 202 n.24; 5th Cir. R. 42.2.

The district court’s dismissal of Johnson’s and Mays’s complaint for failure to state a claim and this court’s dismissal of this appeal as frivolous count as strikes for purposes of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). See Adepegba v. Hammons, 103 F.3d 383, 388 (5th Cir. 1996), abrogated in part on other grounds by Coleman v. Tollefson, 575 U.S. 532, 537 (2015). Johnson and Mays are both WARNED that if either of them accumulates three strikes, they will not be permitted to proceed IFP in any civil action or appeal filed while incarcerated or detained in any facility unless they are under imminent danger of serious physical injury. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).