Opinion
No. 15-6216
07-29-2015
BUTCHIE J. STEMPLE, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. BOBBY P. SHEARIN, Warden; KEITH K. ARNOLD, Chief; KEVIN LAMP, Chaplain, Defendants - Appellees.
Butchie J. Stemple, Appellant Pro Se. Stephanie Judith Lane-Weber, Assistant Attorney General, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellees.
UNPUBLISHED Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore. Ellen L. Hollander, District Judge. (1:14-cv-01739-ELH) Before NIEMEYER and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Butchie J. Stemple, Appellant Pro Se. Stephanie Judith Lane-Weber, Assistant Attorney General, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellees. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM:
Butchie J. Stemple appeals the district court's order granting summary judgment to Appellees on his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2012) claims. We have reviewed the record and find no reversible error. Accordingly, we deny Stemple's motion for appointment of counsel and affirm substantially on the reasoning of the district court. Stemple v. Shearin, No. 1:14-cv-01739-ELH (D. Md. Feb. 3, 2015). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
Although Stemple's claim for equitable relief may not have been barred by Appellees' qualified immunity, see Wall v. Wade, 741 F.3d 492, 497 n.9 (4th Cir. 2014) (noting that qualified immunity is inapplicable to claims for equitable relief), we conclude that the claim nevertheless fails on the merits. See Republican Party of N.C. v. Martin, 980 F.2d 943, 952 (4th Cir. 1992) ("[W]e may affirm a judgment for any reason appearing on the record."). See generally Wall, 741 F.3d at 498-99 (providing test for determining when prison policy violates First Amendment).
AFFIRMED