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UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
DENNIS GUY ERDMAN,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
BILL MARTIN,
et al.,
Defendants-Appellees.
No. 02-1302
52 Fed. Appx. 801
December 12, 2002, Filed
NOTICE: NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION. SIXTH CIRCUIT RULE 28(g) LIMITS CITATION TO SPECIFIC SITUATIONS. PLEASE SEE RULE 28(g) BEFORE CITING IN A PROCEEDING IN A COURT IN THE SIXTH CIRCUIT. IF CITED, A COPY MUST BE SERVED ON OTHER PARTIES AND THE COURT. THIS NOTICE IS TO BE PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED IF THIS DECISION IS REPRODUCED.
ORDER
Before: BATCHELDER and MOORE, Circuit Judges; COLLIER, District
Judge. *
Dennis Guy Erdman,
a pro se Michigan prisoner, appeals a district court judgment dismissing his
civil rights case filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 2000. This case has
been referred to a panel of the court pursuant to Rule 34(j)(1), Rules of the
Sixth Circuit. Upon examination, this panel unanimously agrees that oral
argument is not needed. Fed. R. App. P. 34(a).
Seeking
monetary, declaratory, and injunctive relief, Erdman sued multiple prison
officials alleging that the defendants improperly withdrew funds from his
prison account based upon court orders. Further, when he quit his prison job in
September 2000 because he refused to work when his wages were deducted to pay
his debts, the defendants subjected him to a disciplinary action and a
fraudulent classification report. He also alleged that he was subjected to
additional retaliation by being transferred to another prison. Upon de novo
review of a magistrate judge's report, the district court granted summary
judgment to the defendants.
[*803] In his timely appeal, Erdman argues
that the due process clause prohibits the defendants from withdrawing 100% of
his institutional wages, that he is being denied access to the courts, that he stated a claim of
retaliation, and that his Eighth and Thirteenth Amendment rights have been
violated.
The district court's judgment is reviewed de novo. See Williams v. Mehra, 186 F.3d 685, 689 (6th
Cir. 1999).
Erdman
asserts that his due process rights were violated because the defendants took
100% of his prison wages to pay his debts owed for filing fees and costs. The
withdrawals were pursuant to ten court orders mandating that the funds be
withdrawn from Erdman's prison account to pay his court costs and fees. In
Erdman's most recent legal action, the Wayne County (Michigan) Circuit Court
directed that 90% of Erdman's assets be paid to the state of Michigan, up to an
amount equal to the actual cost of his confinement. As the withdrawals were
pursuant to court orders, and the funds were being utilized for Erdman's
benefit, the defendants did not violate Erdman's constitutional rights. See Hampton
v. Hobbs, 106 F.3d 1281, 1287 (6th Cir. 1997); Mahers v. Halford, 76 F.3d 951,
954-55 (8th Cir. 1996).
Erdman
contends that the withdrawals denied him access to the courts. Inmates have a
constitutionally protected right of
access to the courts. See Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817, 823, 52 L. Ed.
2d 72, 97 S. Ct. 1491 (1977). However, the right of access to the courts is not unrestricted and does
not mean that an inmate must be afforded unlimited litigation resources.
See Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343,
352-55, 135 L. Ed. 2d 606, 116 S. Ct. 2174 (1996). There is no generalized right to litigate which is
protected by the First Amendment. Thaddeus-X v. Blatter, 175 F.3d 378,
391 (6th Cir. 1999). In Lewis, the Supreme Court held that an inmate claiming
that he was denied his right to the courts must show that he suffered an actual
litigation related injury or legal prejudice because of the actions of the
defendants. Lewis, 518 U.S. at 349-51.
Erdman has
not identified any case in which he has suffered injury or prejudice because
fees were withdrawn to pay his debts. The existence of this very appeal
establishes that he is not being deprived access to the courts. The argument is
meritless.
Erdman also
states that he has established a claim of retaliation. To state a claim of
retaliation, a plaintiff must establish that: 1) he engaged in protected conduct; 2) he suffered an
adverse action which would deter a person of ordinary firmness from continuing
to engage in the protected conduct; and 3) the adverse action was motivated, at
least in part, by the protected conduct. Thaddeus-X, 175 F.3d at 394. "If
a prisoner violates a legitimate prison regulation, he is not engaged in
'protected conduct,' and cannot proceed
beyond step one." Id. at 395.
The facts
establish that prison officials were not withdrawing money from Erdman's trust
account for retaliatory purposes. Rather, the withdrawals were to pay for
Erdman's debts. Contrary to his position, Erdman has not established a claim of
retaliation.
Erdman states that the withdrawals constitute cruel and unusual
punishment. In order to establish a claim under the Eighth Amendment, the
offending conduct must be an "unreasonable and unwanton infliction of
pain." Ingraham v. Wright, 430 U.S. 651, 670, 51 L. Ed. 2d 711, 97 S. Ct.
1401 (1977). Such a claim has both an objective and subjective component. See Wilson v. Seiter, 501 U.S. 294, 298, 115
L. Ed. 2d 271, 111 [*804] S. Ct. 2321 (1991). The objective
component of an Eighth Amendment claim requires that the pain be serious.
Id. The Supreme Court addressed the objective component in Rhodes v. Chapman,
452 U.S. 337, 347-49, 69 L. Ed. 2d 59, 101 S. Ct. 2392 (1981), noting that
although double celling may be painful, it did not concern the deprivation of
the "minimal civilized measure of life's necessities." The objective
component, in contrast, constitutes the deliberate indifference standard of Estelle
v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 50 L. Ed. 2d 251, 97 S. Ct. 285 (1976). See Wilson, 501 U.S. at 301-03. The objective
component provides that the offending, non-penal conduct be wanton. Id.
The withdrawal of Erdman's funds from his trust
account does not deprive Erdman of life's necessities nor is it wanton. The
withdrawals were pursuant to court orders. Erdman chose to incur the debts for
multiple court actions and he must now pay for his voluntary actions.
Finally,
Erdman states that he is a slave to the state of Michigan. Erdman is not a
slave. The money he earns pays his debts. As Erdman chose to voluntarily quit
his prison job, pursuant to prison policy, he was confined to his cell
during working hours. Erdman is not
forced to work. He chose to work and the money he earned from his employment
went to pay his debts. The argument is meritless.
Accordingly, we affirm the district court's judgment. Rule 34(j)(2)(C),
Rules of the Sixth Circuit.
* The
Honorable Curtis L. Collier, United States District Judge for the Eastern
District of Tennessee, sitting by designation.