Goodall v. Hodges

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 96-6800 RANDALL LEE GOODALL, Plaintiff - Appellant, versus MICHELLE HODGES; MS. HAMLIN; JOHN B. TAYLOR; ASSISTANT WARDEN PONTON; C. TERRY; CAPTAIN BARKSDALE; D. OTTINGER, Defendants - Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western Dis- trict of Virginia, at Roanoke. Jackson L. Kiser, Chief District Judge. (CA-95-867-R) Submitted: November 27, 1996 Decided: December 19, 1996 Before HALL, MURNAGHAN, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Randall Lee Goodall, Appellant Pro Se. Lance Bradford Leggitt, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF VIRGINIA, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellees. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM: Randall Lee Goodall appeals the district court's order denying relief on his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1994) complaint. We have reviewed the record and the district court's opinion and find no reversible error. Accordingly, we affirm largely on the reasoning of the dis- trict court. Goodall v. Hodges, No. CA-95-867-R (W.D. Va. Apr. 16, 1996). We write separately only to note that although claims of defamation may sometimes be cognizable under § 1983 by alleging in- jury to a constitutionally protected right, Appellant's defamation claim was nonetheless properly dismissed. We also note that while inmates do have a right to seek correction of inaccurate informa- tion in their prison files when such information is relied upon to a constitutionally significant degree, Appellant has not demon- strated a sufficient request to prison authorities to expunge the allegedly improper material. Accordingly, we are without jurisdic- tion to consider this claim. Paine v. Baker, 595 F.2d 197, 202-03 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 925 (1979). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequate- ly presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED 2