F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FEB 18 1998
TENTH CIRCUIT
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
LUPIJOE PEREZ, ERNEST D.
SMITH, CHARLES RICHARD,
Plaintiffs,
and
GEORGE A. WILLIAMS,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v. No. 97-1349
(District of Colorado)
EL PASO COUNTY, EL PASO (D.C. No. 96-Z-1359)
COUNTY SHERIFF’S
DEPARTMENT; JOHN W.
ANDERSON, Sheriff; MAJOR
ALEXANDER, CAPTAIN HUNT,
CAPTAIN SANTIAGO,
LIEUTENANT BOERJON,
SERGEANT KING, SERGEANT
NUTTING, SERGEANT HOUGHEY,
FRAN LEPAGE,
Defendants-Appellees.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the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.
Before BALDOCK, EBEL, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.
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 cause is
therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
Plaintiffs Lupijoe Perez, Ernest D. Smith, George Williams, and Charles R.
Corner (the “Plaintiffs”) initiated this action against the County of El Paso, El
Paso County Sheriff’s Office, and numerous individuals within the sheriff’s
office, by filing a complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Plaintiffs alleged
that their constitutional right of access to the courts was denied while they were
incarcerated in the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center Detention Facility (the
“Detention Facility”). Specifically, Plaintiffs alleged that the defendants severely
restricted their access to a law library and phones used to make legal calls, failed
to provide adequate legal assistance, and maintained an inadequate law library.
The district court granted summary judgment to the defendants, concluding that
Plaintiffs had failed to allege a sufficient injury-in-fact to satisfy the standard set
forth by the Supreme Court in Lewis v. Casey, 116 S. Ct. 2174, 2180 (1996) and
that Plaintiffs had failed to adduce any evidence that the legal facilities at the
Detention Facility denied them meaningful access to the courts.
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In a rambling and completely incomprehensible pro se brief Williams
appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the defendants.
Williams’ brief lists the issue on appeal as “The system has become oppressive.
We’ll never gain the opportunity to colonize Mars this way,” fails to cite to a
single relevant authority, and fails to allege any specific injury arising from the
legal access system at the Detention Center. Upon de novo review of Williams’
frivolous appellate brief, the defendants’ response thereto, the magistrate’s Report
and Recommendation, the district court’s Order, and the entire record on appeal,
this court affirms for substantially the reasons set forth in the Report and
Recommendation and district court Order.
The judgment of the United State District Court for the District of Colorado
is hereby AFFIRMED. This appeal is frivolous under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) and
therefore constitutes a “prior occasion” within the meaning of that section. All
outstanding motions are denied.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT:
Michael R. Murphy
Circuit Judge
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