F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
AUG 12 1997
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
ARTHUR JAMES MOORE,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v. No. 96-1353
(D.C. No. 95-B-3089)
WARDEN HENDERSON; CAPTAIN (D. Colo.)
HOLDITCH,
Defendants-Appellees.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before KELLY and HENRY, Circuit Judges, and DOWNES, ** District Judge.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of
this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. The case is therefore
ordered submitted without oral argument.
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. The court
generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order
and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
**
Honorable William F. Downes, District Judge, United States District Court
for the District of Wyoming, sitting by designation.
Plaintiff Arthur James Moore appeals from an order of the district court
dismissing his complaint, filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, for failure to state a
claim. We dismiss the appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii).
Mr. Moore commenced this action against the defendant warden and the
captain of his living unit alleging cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth
Amendment because female officers entered the living unit when male inmates
were taking showers and using the toilets. He also alleged deliberate indifference
to inmate health and safety as inmates were forced to eat near mops, mop buckets,
and the open showers. He further alleged that the living unit had inadequate fire
detection devices. Mr. Moore acknowledged that he had suffered no specific
physical injury from any of the alleged conditions.
The magistrate judge recommended that defendants’ motion to dismiss for
failure to state a claim be granted because plaintiff had shown no personal
participation by the defendants and no deliberate indifference. Mr. Moore
responded and objected only to the magistrate judge’s determination regarding the
viewing of male inmates by female officers. This issue alone is preserved for
appeal. See United States v. One Parcel of Real Property, with Buildings,
Appurtenances, Improvement, & Contents, 73 F.3d 1057, 1060 (10th Cir.), cert.
denied, 117 S. Ct. 271 (1996) (setting forth requirement that party must timely
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and specifically object to magistrate judge’s ruling to preserve issues for appellate
review).
We review the district court’s dismissal of a complaint for failure to state a
claim de novo. Kidd v. Taos Ski Valley, Inc., 88 F.3d 848, 854 (10th Cir. 1996).
We will uphold the dismissal “only when it appears that the plaintiff can prove no
set of facts in support of the claims that would entitle him to relief, accepting the
well-pleaded allegations of the complaint as true and construing them in the light
most favorable to the plaintiff.” Fuller v. Norton, 86 F.3d 1016, 1020 (10th Cir.
1996).
The viewing of nude inmates by prison guards of the opposite sex is not per
se unconstitutional. See Somers v. Thurman,109 F.3d 614, 619-20 (9th Cir.),
petition for cert. filed, No. 96-9487 (U.S. Jun. 23, 1997). Mr. Moore has not
shown that either defendant was deliberately indifferent to his need for privacy.
Mr. Moore’s motion for appointment of counsel is DENIED. We DISMISS
this appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). The mandate shall issue
forthwith.
Entered for the Court
William F. Downes
District Judge
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