Farmer v. Phillips

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE EASTERN DIVISION

KEITH LEMONT FARMER, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) VS. ) No. 19-1211-JDT-cgc ) SHAWN PHILLIPS, ET AL., ) ) Defendants. )

ORDER DENYING IRREGULAR MOTION

On June 25, 2020, the pro se prisoner Plaintiff, Keith Lemont Farmer, filed a notice of appeal from this Court’s sua sponte dismissal of his complaint. (ECF No. 28.) The appeal has been docketed in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals as case number 20-5730. (ECF No. 30.) On August 17, 2020, the Clerk of this Court received additional documents from Farmer, which were docketed as a motion. (ECF No. 33.) Attached to Farmer’s untitled motion are a copy of a letter to Farmer from the Lauderdale County Chancery Court Clerk acknowledging receipt of Farmer’s “Writ of Common Law – Writ of Certiorari” for filing, (ECF No. 33-1), and a copy of another document that is directed to the Sixth Circuit, (ECF No. 33-2). Farmer’s motion is very difficult to decipher. However, a close reading of both the motion and the document directed to the Sixth Circuit suggests he may be requesting the Court prohibit the Tennessee Department of Correction from transferring him away from the West Tennessee State Penitentiary, where he is presently incarcerated. Farmer asserts such a transfer would be “clear guilt” of an “attemp[t] to cover up any wrong doing.” (ECF No. 33 at PageID 785.) An inmate does not have a protected right to be assigned to a particular prison, and

the Court does not have general authority to supervise or alter housing assignment of inmates to prevent a transfer, such as Farmer seeks. See Olim v. Wakinekona, 461 U.S. 238 (1983); Meachum v. Fano, 427 U.S. 215 (1976); Montanye v. Haymes, 427 U.S. 236 (1976); Sandin, 515 U.S. at 484-87. Moreover, it has not been determined that Farmer is entitled to relief in this matter. His irregular motion therefore is DENIED.

IT IS SO ORDERED. s/ James D. Todd JAMES D. TODD UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE