Triplett v. Lehman

USCA1 Opinion












[NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT

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No. 96-1222

ERVIN TRIPLETT,

Plaintiff, Appellant,

v.

JOSEPH LEHMAN, ET AL.,

Defendants, Appellees.

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APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE

[Hon. Morton A. Brody, U.S. District Judge] ___________________

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Before

Torruella, Chief Judge, ___________
Boudin and Lynch, Circuit Judges. ______________

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Ervin Triplett on brief pro se. ______________
Andrew Ketterer, Attorney General, Diane Sleek and Peter J. ________________ ____________ ________
Brann, Assistant Attorney Generals, on brief for appellees. _____


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August 21, 1996
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Per Curiam. Pro se plaintiff Ervin Triplett appeals a __________ ___ __

district court order that dismissed his 42 U.S.C. 1983

complaint for injunctive relief from the alleged denial of

his right of access to the courts. That complaint alleged

that the defendant employees of the Maine Department of

Corrections had violated that right by denying or ignoring

plaintiff's requests for access to the prison law library at

MCI-Warren.1 1

As it is undisputed that plaintiff is no longer

incarcerated at MCI-Warren, we agree that the district court

properly dismissed plaintiff's complaint as moot. See United ___ ______

States v. Munsingwear, 340 U.S. 36, 39-40 (1950); Gomes v. ______ ___________ _____

Rhode Island Interscholastic League, 604 F.2d 733, 736 (1st ____________________________________

Cir. 1979); Keleghan v. Industrial Trust Co., 211 F.2d 134, ________ _____________________

135 (per curiam). We decline to address plaintiff's claim

that the defendants transferred him out of MCI-Warren in

retaliation for filing this lawsuit. As plaintiff never

clearly alleged that he was seeking damages for a retaliatory

transfer and further failed to serve the defendants with

notice of this claim, it is not properly before us.

The judgment of the district court is affirmed. ________


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1Although we do not reach the issue in the present appeal, 1
we note that the plaintiff's complaint patently fails to
state a viable claim under the Supreme Court's recent
decision in Lewis v. Casey, 64 U.S.L.W. 4587, 4589 (U.S. June _____ _____
24, 1996)(holding that prisoner must show actual injury to
establish violation of right of access to the courts).

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