Charles Gordon Long v. Com. of Corrections

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: August 29, 1997
• Docket: 96-3644
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

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No. 96-3644 ___________

Charles Gordon Long, * * Appellant, * * Terrence Pick, * * Appeal from the United States Plaintiff, * District Court for the * District of Minnesota. v. * [UNPUBLISHED] * Commissioner of Corrections, * * Appellee. * ___________

Submitted: August 22, 1997 Filed: August 29, 1997 ___________

Before FAGG, BOWMAN, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges. ___________

PER CURIAM.

Charles Gordon Long filed this petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241, alleging that he was confined at Minnesota Correctional Facility-Lino Lakes (MCF-LL), and that prison officials informed him he could not receive three paperback books his mother attempted to send him in April 1995 because they did not

-2- come from an approved vendor. Long claimed this prohibition infringed his First Amendment rights, and sought injunctive and declaratory relief. He also asked for certification of a class action. After the State responded that Long had been released from MCF-LL, the district court1 dismissed Long&s action as moot. Long appeals, and we affirm.

We conclude the district court&s dismissal of Long&s action as moot was proper, see Scher v. Chief Postal Inspector, 973 F.2d 682, 683 (8th Cir. 1992) (per curiam) (because prisoner is no longer incarcerated, his claim for declaratory and injunctive relief is moot), and the court did not abuse its discretion in not permitting Long to amend his complaint, see Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a); Williams v. Little Rock Mun. Water Works, 21 F.3d 218, 224-25 (8th Cir. 1994) (standard of review). We also conclude the district court did not err in denying Long&s joinder motion and in not ruling on class certification.

Accordingly, we affirm.

A true copy.

Attest:

CLERK, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.

1 The Honorable Michael James Davis, United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota, adopting the report and recommendation of the Honorable John M. Mason, United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Minnesota.

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