James Lee Anthony v. Julie L. Jones, Secretary, Department of Corrections, Warden Churchill, All Asst. Wardens, Colonels, Majors, Lieutenants, Sergeants, and Correctional Officers of Northwest Florida Reception Center, et.
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
FIRST DISTRICT, STATE OF FLORIDA
JAMES LEE ANTHONY, NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO
FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND
Appellant, DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED
v. CASE NO. 1D14-5866
JULIE L. JONES, SECRETARY
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,
WARDEN CHURCHILL, ALL ASST.
WARDENS, COLONELS, MAJORS,
LIEUTENANTS, SERGEANTS,
AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS
OF NORTHWEST FLORIDA
RECEPTION CENTER, et al.,
Appellees.
______________________________/
Opinion filed October 6, 2015.
An appeal from the Circuit Court for Leon County.
James C. Hankinson, Judge.
James Lee Anthony, pro se, Appellant.
Dorothy Ridgway, Acting General Counsel of the Department of Corrections,
Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, and Eric Gonzalez, Assistant Attorney
General, Tallahassee, for Appellees.
PER CURIAM.
A prisoner in state custody, James Lee Anthony sued to enjoin the
Department of Corrections and various department employees from using physical
devices, force, chemical agents, or physical restraints against him at Northwest
Florida Reception Center, and sought a court order requiring his immediate
transfer to another correctional facility. We affirm the dismissal of the action as
moot on grounds the prisoner has since been transferred to a different correctional
institution. See, e.g., Rojas v. State, 148 So. 3d 818, 818-19 (Fla. 5th DCA 2014)
(affirming dismissal of petition for writ of habeas corpus alleging mistreatment at
one correctional facility as moot where the petitioning prisoner had been
transferred to another correctional institution).
In the proceedings below, appellant sought injunctive and declaratory relief,
but not money damages. Cf. Boatman v. Fla. Dep’t of Corr., 924 So. 2d 906, 907
(Fla. 1st DCA 2006) (“Although those claims for which the appellant sought
declaratory or injunctive relief were rendered moot by his transfer, the appellant
also sought an award of damages in connection with, among other things,
allegations of excessive use of force by prison guards and indifference to the
appellant’s medical needs. The appellant’s transfer to a different facility did not
affect the viability of these claims.” (citation omitted)); Black v. Rouse, 587 So. 2d
1359, 1362 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991) (holding that, although the prisoner’s prayers for
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injunctive and declaratory relief were moot based on his transfer to a different
facility, the transfer did not render moot his claim for damages).
Affirmed.
BENTON, ROWE, and MARSTILLER, JJ., CONCUR.
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