Opinion
1:21CV272
12-22-2021
ANTHONY MAURICE BONE EL, Plaintiff, v. TODD E. ISHEE, et al., Defendants.
ORDER AND RECOMMENDATION OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Joe L.Webster, United States Magistrate Judge
Plaintiff, a prisoner of the State of North Carolina, submitted a civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, together with an application to proceed in forma pauperis.
The form of the Complaint is such that serious flaws make it impossible to further process the Complaint. The problems are:
1. Plaintiff attempts to raise claims on behalf of other prisoners. He cannot do this, but must raise only his own claims.
2. Plaintiff's claims are unclear. He alleges that Defendants stymied his efforts to become a religious helper. However, a suit under § 1983 must be based on a violation of federal constitutional or statutory rights. It is not clear whether Plaintiff believes he has a federal right to be a religious helper, but the Court knows of no support for that proposition. It is also not clear whether Plaintiff may be raising some other claim based on these events. Plaintiff also mentions an issue in relation to the celebration of Ramadan, but that issue is simply unclear. The Complaint does not explain how Defendants allegedly interfered with his right to celebrate Ramadan.
Consequently, the Complaint should be dismissed, but without prejudice to Plaintiff filing a new complaint, on the proper § 1983 forms, which corrects the defects of the present Complaint.
Further, although the Complaint focuses on events that occurred at a prison located in the Middle District of North Carolina, the Court notes that Plaintiff is currently housed in a prison in the Eastern District of North Carolina and that the Complaint seeks only injunctive relief regarding the celebration of Ramadan and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety's manual controlling any such celebration. Given that, it appears that venue would be proper in the Eastern District, and Plaintiff may obtain forms and instructions from the Clerk's Office for filing in that District. See 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). The address is: 310 New Bern Avenue, Room 574, Raleigh, NC 27601. If Plaintiff seeks other relief based on events that occurred in this District and believes his Complaint should actually be filed here, he may seek the appropriate forms from this Court's the Clerk's Office and attempt to file his new case here while correcting the defects noted above.
In forma pauperis status is granted for the sole purpose of entering this Order and Recommendation.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that In forma pauperis status is granted for the sole purpose of entering this Order and Recommendation.
IT IS RECOMMENDED that this action be filed and dismissed sua sponte without prejudice to Plaintiff filing a new complaint, on the proper § 1983 forms and in the proper district, which corrects the defects cited above.