UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
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No. 95-40168
Summary Calendar
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MICHAEL THOMAS HUMPHREY,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
VERSUS
STACY D. LAYTON,
Defendant-Appellee.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Texas
(6:94-CV-356)
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(June 1, 1995)
Before JONES, BARKSDALE, and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:1
Proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, Michael Thomas
Humphrey, a Texas state prisoner, claimed violations of his
constitutional rights in connection with a prison disciplinary
proceeding. The district court dismissed, with prejudice, the
complaint as frivolous, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d). Because
Humphrey has received the relief sought, we DISMISS this appeal as
moot.
1
Local Rule 47.5 provides: "The publication of opinions that
have no precedential value and merely decide particular cases on
the basis of well-settled principles of law imposes needless
expense on the public and burdens on the legal profession."
Pursuant to that Rule, the court has determined that this opinion
should not be published.
I.
Stacy Layton, an officer at the Coffield prison, filed a
disciplinary report against Humphrey after he refused to shave.
Despite his protestations of innocence, a disciplinary hearing
found Humphrey guilty of the infraction; and, as a result,
Humphrey's prison classification was reduced.
Claiming that constitutional violations arose from this
disciplinary incident, Humphrey filed this action pursuant to 42
U.S.C. § 1983. Following a Spears hearing, the magistrate judge
identified the following elements of Humphrey's complaint: (1) that
he was denied witnesses on his behalf at the disciplinary hearing;
(2) that he was actually innocent of the offense; and (3) that
Officer Layton filed a false disciplinary report and lied at the
hearing.2 Finding that Humphrey's complaint lacked an arguable
basis in law or fact, the magistrate judge dismissed the
complaint.3 On appeal, Humphrey's brief is virtually
incomprehensible; liberally construed, however, it contends that
the magistrate judge erred in dismissing the complaint.4
2
At the Spears hearing, the magistrate judge amended
Humphrey's complaint to include Captain Bush, who presided at
Humphrey's disciplinary hearing.
3
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), both parties consented to
proceed before the magistrate judge.
4
In his brief, Humphrey appears to raise for the first time a
litany of other issues, including that he is subjected to
unsanitary conditions and spoiled food, that the guards tamper
with his mail, that the guards use excessive force, and that the
guards fail to watch the inmates who are suicidal. As is well
established, we will not consider issues raised for the first
time on appeal.
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II.
In his complaint, Humphrey sought only injunctive relief;
namely, the nullification of the reduction of his prison
classification.5 Nathaniel Quarterman, the assistant warden of the
Coffield prison, submitted a sworn affidavit to the district court
indicating that, due to a procedural error, Humphrey's disciplinary
hearing will be overturned and expunged from his permanent record.6
Attached to the affidavit was an inter-office memorandum addressed
to the director of the prison's Bureau of Classification and
Records, indicating that Humphrey's disciplinary report and
punishment were to be deleted. Accordingly, Humphrey has received
the relief he sought; this appeal is moot.
III.
For the foregoing reasons, the appeal is
DISMISSED.
5
Humphrey also prayed for a transfer from the Coffield unit.
Needless to say, federal courts are very reluctant to interfere
in any aspect of prison administration; the decision to transfer
a prisoner to a different prison is best left in the hands of the
prison administrator.
6
New prison procedures required that Humphrey's disciplinary
hearing should have been handled by an officer with the rank of
at least major. The officer who reviewed Humphrey's case was a
captain.
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