Warner v. Chambers-Smith

District Court, S.D. Ohio·Decided July 10, 2025·No. 2:24-cv-01565·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO EASTERN DIVISION

DANNY LEE WARNER, JR.,

Plaintiff,

v. Civil Action 2:24-cv-1565 District Judge Michael H. Watson Magistrate Judge Kimberly A. Jolson ANNETTE CHAMBERS-SMITH, et al.,

Defendants.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION Plaintiff’s Renewed Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary/Permanent Injunction with Consolidation on the Merits (Doc. 71) is before the Court. For the following reasons, the Undersigned RECOMMENDS that the Renewed Motion be DENIED. I. BACKGROUND Plaintiff, a prisoner at Trumbull Correctional Institution (“TCI”) proceeding pro se, brings claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for alleged violations of his rights under the First, Fourth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments. (Doc. 44 at 2–3; Doc. 67 at 1–2; Doc. 104 (further clarifying Plaintiff’s claims)). The Court has summarized Plaintiff’s allegations many times. (See, e.g., Doc. 54 at 1–2; Doc. 55 at 1–2; Doc. 67 at 1–2; see also Doc. 5-1 at 6–7). Briefly, Plaintiff challenges the constitutionality of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s (“ODRC”) legal mail policy. (See, e.g., Doc. 4 at ¶¶ 53–81, 129–45). The policy requires senders of “legal mail,” including courts, attorneys, and legal organizations, to obtain a “control number” from the prisoner’s correctional institution. If the sender does not, the prison may treat the mail as “regular mail” and copy and inspect it outside of the prisoner’s presence. (Doc. 74-1 (legal mail policy, effective February 1, 2022); cf. Doc. 78-1 (policy variance requiring ODRC to treat all mail from federal courts as legal mail, effective April 14, 2025)). The control number policy, Plaintiff says, “adversely effect[s]” his ability to litigate. (Doc. 37 at 10 (cleaned up); Doc. 67 at 1–2 (summarizing Plaintiff’s allegations about mail)). More

specifically, Plaintiff claims the policy causes lengthy mailing delays. (Doc. 37 at 8–10; see also Doc. 37-1 at 13–17). Even more, he sometimes does not receive his mail at all, or the mail is missing pages. (Doc. 4 at 9–10; Doc. 37-1 at 13–17). In the past, these mailing issues allegedly caused Plaintiff to miss filing deadlines. (Doc. 37-1 at 13–17). The control number policy is not Plaintiff’s only complaint. On January 30, 2025, Plaintiff represents that ODRC established a new mail processing center. (Doc. 37 at 1). He believes that if his legal mail does not have a control number, it will be sent to the center, causing further delays. (Id.). Based upon these issues, Plaintiff filed an Emergency Motion for Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”) Without Notice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(b) on January 27, 2025.

(Doc. 37). In that Motion, he sought ex-parte injunctive relief (1) prohibiting ODRC from sending his legal mail to the processing center, and (2) directing Defendants to treat any mail Plaintiff receives from courts, attorneys, or other legal entities as legal mail. (Id. at 1). Ultimately, the Court found that Plaintiff did not meet the high burden for ex parte relief and denied his motion. (Doc. 55; Doc. 67 at 4 (adopting Doc. 55)). But the Court did not stop him from trying again. The Court allowed Plaintiff to “revise and refile his request for a preliminary injunction and submit additional evidence.” (Doc. 55 at 6; see also Doc. 67 at 4–5 (saying Plaintiff may refile his motion or rest on his prior motion)). Instead of taking that opportunity, Plaintiff renewed his previous motion on May 1, 2025. (Doc. 71 (renewing Doc. 37) (“Renewed Motion”)). Defendants responded to the Renewed Motion, but Plaintiff did not reply. (Doc. 78). The time to do so passed, and the matter is ripe for review. (Doc. 72 (giving Plaintiff until May 27, 2025, to file a reply); see Docs. 71, 78).

II. STANDARD Preliminary injunctive relief “is an extraordinary remedy,” and the burden to obtain it is high. Overstreet v. Lexington-Fayette Urban Cnty. Gov’t, 305 F.3d 566, 573 (6th Cir. 2002). Ultimately, Plaintiff must show “that the circumstances clearly demand it.” Id. (citing Leary v. Daeschner, 228 F.3d 729, 739 (6th Cir. 2000)). Further, because Plaintiff’s request is subject to the Prisoner Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”), 42 U.S.C. § 1997e, any preliminary injunction “must be narrowly drawn, extend no further than necessary to correct the harm the court finds requires preliminary relief, and be the least intrusive means necessary to correct that harm.” 18 U.S.C. § 3626(a)(2). The standard to obtain a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction are largely

the same. ABX Air, Inc. v. Int’l Bhd. of Teamsters, Airline Div., 219 F.Supp.3d 665, 670 (S.D. Ohio 2016) (noting that the standard for a temporary restraining order emphasizes the irreparable harm factor). For either, the movant must show “that he is likely to succeed on the merits, that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, that the balance of equities tips in his favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest.” Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 20 (2008) (collecting cases). The movant must make a “clear showing” on all four factors. EOG Res., Inc. v. Lucky Land Mgmt., LLC, 134 F.4th 868, 874 (6th Cir. 2025). Importantly, however, “[i]rreparable harm is the core of the preliminary injunction,” and “while the extent of an injury may be balanced against [the other three] factors, the existence of irreparable harm is mandatory.” Id. at 883 (internal quotation omitted) (emphasis in original). III. DISCUSSION As noted, Plaintiff alleges that ODRC’s control number policy violates his rights under the

First Amendment and seeks a preliminary injunction on this basis. (Doc. 44 at 2–3; Doc. 67 at 1– 2; Doc. 37 at 12–19). Usually, if a plaintiff can establish a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of a First Amendment claim, he “also has established the possibility of irreparable harm as a result of the deprivation of the claimed [] rights.” Connection Distrib. Co. v. Reno, 154 F.3d 281, 188 (6th Cir. 1998) (citation modified). This is because “the loss of First Amendment freedoms, even for minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury.” Jones v. Caruso, 569 F.3d 258, 277 (6th Cir. 2009) (collecting cases) (citation modified). Still, that loss must be likely to occur. EOG Res., Inc., 134 F.4th at 885 (emphasizing a plaintiff must “demonstrate that irreparable harm is likely in the absence of an injunction” (quoting Winter, 555 U.S. at 22) (emphasis in original)). A court cannot grant preliminary injunctive relief

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