Watters v. Free

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

BARRY LYNN WATTERS, JR., Plaintiff, v. Case No. 21-CV-687 J. FREE, et al., Defendants.

ORDER

On August 8, 2022, plaintiff Barry Lynn Watters, Jr., who is confined at Green Bay Correctional Institution (GBCI) and representing himself, filed a motion asking the court to order GBCI to stop forcing him to choose between going to the law library and going to religious services. (ECF No. 54.) But the court cannot intervene in the day-to-day operations of GBCI. “[I]t is unseemly for federal courts to tell a state how to run its prison system.” Scarveu v. Litscher, 434 F.3d 972, 976-77 (7th Cir. 2006) (citing Duran v. Elrod, 760 F.2d 756, 759 (7th Cir. 1985)). Watters needs to use the inmate grievance system to resolve this issue. If after fully exhausting his administrative remedies he believes he has claim that he is being denied access to courts, he may file a lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. If while resolving this issue Watters believes he cannot meet the deadline to file his response to the defendants’ motions for summary judgment, he may file for the court’s consideration a motion for extension of time. Watter’s motion (ECF No. 54) is DENIED.

Dated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this 30th day of August, 2022.

BY THE COURT WILLIAM E. DUFFIN United States Magistrate Judge