Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO.:15-00547-BAJ-RLB
07-21-2016
DEREK MITCHELL HALE (#499675) v. JAMES M. LEBLANC, ET AL.
RULING AND ORDER
On June 21, 2016, the United States Magistrate Judge issued a Report and Recommendation, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1), recommending that Plaintiff Derek Mitchell Hale's ("Plaintiff") Complaint (Docs. 1, 15) be dismissed as legally frivolous and for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. (Doc. 18).
The Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation specifically notified Plaintiff that, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1), he had fourteen (14) days from the date he received the Report and Recommendation to file written objections to the proposed findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendations therein. (Doc. 18 at p. 1). Within the objection period, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Reconsideration (Doc. 20), which the Court shall construe as an objection.
Plaintiff re-alleges many of the same facts and claims contained in the Amended Complaint. These facts and claims include: (1) the second disciplinary hearing violated double jeopardy; (2) he was wrongfully detained in violation of his right to due process; (3) his Eighth Amendment rights were violated because during solitary confinement he was not provided adequate winter clothing, shower shoes, toiletries, writing materials, or a ladder to access the top bunk; (5) he was "singled out" and discriminated against for his homosexual association; and (6) the remarks about his homosexuality constituted defamation and slander. Each of the above were properly and thoroughly addressed in the Report and Recommendation, and to avoid repetition, the Court will not readdress them here. Plaintiff also improperly alleges two new facts not contained in the Amended Complaint. These facts include his suspicion that he has contracted a foot fungus and an allegation that one of the defendants called him a "punk." Because the allegations are not a part of the Amended Complaint, they shall not be considered here. Finally, Plaintiff contends that he would be entitled to nominal damages for his alleged constitutional violations. This issue is moot because Plaintiff failed to state a claim for a constitutional violation. --------
Having carefully considered the underlying Complaint and Plaintiff's objection, the Court approves the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation, and hereby adopts the findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendation.
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that the Motion for Reconsideration (Doc. 20) is DENIED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation (Doc. 18) is ADOPTED as the Court's opinion herein.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the above-captioned matter be DISMISSED as legally frivolous and for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e) and 1915A.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, this 21ST day of July, 2016.
/s/ _________
BRIAN A. JACKSON, CHIEF JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA