Dupont v. DuBois

Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Dupont v. DuBois. Read the opinion of the Court — 99 F.3d 1128
Court of Appeals for the First Circuit·Decided November 8, 1996·No. 96-1459·Published

Opinion

USCA1 Opinion



[NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
____________________

No. 96-1459

MICHAEL KEVIN DUPONT,

Plaintiff, Appellant,

v.

LARRY E. DUBOIS, COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTIONS, ET AL.,

Defendants, Appellees.

____________________

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

[Hon. Reginald C. Lindsay, U.S. District Judge] ___________________

____________________

Before

Torruella, Chief Judge, ___________
Selya and Stahl, Circuit Judges. ______________

____________________

Michael Kevin Dupont on brief pro se. ____________________
Nancy Ankers White, Special Assistant Attorney General, and David __________________ _____
J. Rentsch, Counsel, Department of Correction, on brief for appellees. __________

____________________

November 6, 1996
____________________

Per Curiam. Michael Kevin DuPont appeals from the __________

district court's denial of preliminary injunctive relief.1 1

We affirm, without prejudice to his right to seek certain

relief anew in the district court, as is explained below.

A. Background __________

DuPont is incarcerated at MCI-Cedar Junction in

Massachusetts. In 1992, he filed a pro se civil rights ___ __

action against various Department of Corrections personnel

and others, seeking damages and injunctive relief under 42

U.S.C. 1983. Among other things, he alleged that

defendants had violated his rights by using excessive force

against him, seizing his legal materials, denying him medical

care, and threatening to confine him in a disciplinary unit.

At the time he filed his complaint, DuPont was in the

Departmental Segregation Unit (DSU), but he was later placed

in the Departmental Disciplinary Unit (DDU), where he

remains.

In this appeal, DuPont challenges the district

court's denial of his request for an injunction ordering

compliance with certain stipulations, agreements, or orders

in the following cases: Cepulonis v. Fair, D. Mass., No. _________ ____

78-3233-Z; Stone v. Boone, D. Mass., No. 73-1083-T; Alston v. _____ _____ ______

____________________

1The court accepted a magistrate's report recommending 1
denial of some of his requests for relief in an order dated
August 3, 1995, and summarily denied other requests in an
order dated March 13, 1996. DuPont appeals from those two
orders.

-2-

Fair, D. Mass., No. 77-3519-G; Hoffer v. Fair, S.J.C. No. 85- ____ ______ ____

71; and DuPont v. Hall, Norfolk Super. Ct. No. 87-1399. He ______ ____

also objects to the court's denial of his requests for

injunctions forbidding the use of chemical agents or

excessive force against him, forbidding his placement in a

strip cell, directing the return of postage stamps taken from

his incoming mail and the return of certain legal materials,

and directing his release from the DDU.

B. Discussion __________

If the district court has made no clear error of

law or fact in its ruling on a preliminary injunction motion,

we will not disturb its conclusion absent manifest abuse of

discretion. See Cohen v. Brown University, 991 F.2d 888, 902 ___ _____ ________________

(1st Cir. 1993). For the reasons outlined below, we find

that the district court did not overstep its bounds in

denying the requested relief.

Consent Decree Violations. In part, DuPont seeks __________________________

orders enforcing federal or state court consent decrees, but

such relief is unavailable in an individual action under 42

U.S.C. 1983. See Martel v. Fridovich, 14 F.3d 1, 3 n.4 ___ ______ _________

(1st Cir. 1993).2 2

____________________

2On appeal, DuPont presents a new claim that his placement 2
in the DDU breached a settlement agreement in DuPont v. Fair, ______ ____
Plymouth Super. Ct. No. 89-0105-B, but that claim would also
be barred under Martel. ______

-3-

State Law Violations. DuPont also asserts various ____________________

state law violations, e.g., that defendants have not properly

promulgated certain DDU rules, did not medically screen him

before placing him in the DDU, and have not provided certain

law library access, all in violation of state statutes or

regulations. But he does not explain how defendants thereby

violated federal law, and this court does not have the power

to direct state officials to comply with state law. See ___

Quintero de Quintero v. Aponte-Roque, 974 F.2d 226, 230 (1st _____________________ ____________

Cir. 1992) (citing Pennhurst State Sch.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Dupont v. DuBois, (1st Cir. 1996).

Dupont v. DuBois (Dupont v. DuBois) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Procunier v. Martinez
416 U.S. 396 (Supreme Court, 1974)
Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman
465 U.S. 89 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Turner v. Safley
482 U.S. 78 (Supreme Court, 1987)
Thornburgh v. Abbott
490 U.S. 401 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Sandin v. Conner
515 U.S. 472 (Supreme Court, 1995)
Lewis v. Casey
518 U.S. 343 (Supreme Court, 1996)
Martel v. Fridovich
14 F.3d 1 (First Circuit, 1993)
Dinhora Quintero De Quintero v. Awilda Aponte-Roque
974 F.2d 226 (First Circuit, 1992)
Amy Cohen v. Brown University
991 F.2d 888 (First Circuit, 1993)
Savko v. Rollins
749 F. Supp. 1403 (D. Maryland, 1990)