Phillips v. Oklahoma Department of Corrections

F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
OCT 23 2003
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
JIMMY PHILLIPS,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v. No. 03-6161
(D.C. No. 03-CV-295-M)
OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF (W.D. Okla.)
CORRECTIONS; REGINALD HINES,
Warden; SUSAN MILAN, Health
Services Administrator; BARBARA
WILSON, Unit Manager; FELIX
KELLY; TONITA TAYLOR,
Administrative Officer, in their
official and individual capacities,
Defendants-Appellees.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before KELLY, O’BRIEN, and McCONNELL, Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. The court
generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order
and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is
therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
Appellant Jimmy Phillips, a prisoner at the Lexington (Oklahoma)
Correctional Facility appearing pro se, appeals from the district court’s May 27,
2003 order denying his motion for a temporary restraining order or preliminary
injunction. 1 He also has filed in this court motions for an injunction pending
appeal and for leave to proceed in this court without prepayment of costs and
fees. As in the district court, he seeks an order directing appellees to reassign
him for medical reasons from kitchen work or outside labor-pool work to cool,
sedentary work. Upon consideration, we grant the motion for leave to proceed
without prepayment of costs and fees, affirm the district court’s order, and deny
the motion for an injunction pending appeal.
In order to demonstrate his entitlement to an injunction pending appeal,
10th Cir. R. 8.1 requires appellant to address: (1) the likelihood that he will
succeed on appeal; (2) the threat that he will be irreparably harmed if the
injunction is not granted; (3) the absence of harm to appellees if the injunction is
granted; and (4) any risk of harm to the public interest. Homans v. City of
1
Although appellant requested both a preliminary injunction and a temporary
restraining order in the district court, under the circumstances of this case, this
court has jurisdiction to consider only the denial of the preliminary injunction.
See Populist Party v. Herschler , 746 F.2d 656, 661 n.2 (10th Cir. 1984).
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Albuquerque, 264 F.3d 1240, 1243 (10th Cir. 2001) (per curiam). In ruling on
appellant’s motion, we make the same inquiry as when we review the district
court’s denial of a preliminary injunction. Id. Thus, we must determine “whether
the district court abused its discretion and whether the movant has demonstrated a
clear and unequivocal right to relief.” Id. A district court abuses its discretion
when it “bases its decision on an erroneous conclusion of law or where there is no
rational basis in the evidence for the ruling.” Chem. Weapons Working Group,
Inc. (CWWG) v. United States Dep’t of the Army, 111 F.3d 1485, 1489 (10th Cir.
1997).
We have reviewed the district court record. In the district court, appellant
submitted evidence from medical officials at the Lawton Correctional Facility
showing that when he was housed there, he was not assigned kitchen work or
outside work based on a restriction for “cool, sedentary work only–ongoing.”
R., Doc. 19, Ex. 5. The district court denied his motion for a preliminary
injunction, adopting the magistrate judge’s reasoning that appellant had not
shown that his right to relief was clear and unequivocal. Lexington medical
officials had decided that appellant was not limited to cool, sedentary work, and
appellant’s evidence that he was restricted to cool, sedentary work came from
another facility and was nearly five years old. Id., Doc. 22, at 2; Doc. 9, at 1, 3.
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Appellant has not shown to this court that he will be irreparably harmed
absent injunctive relief. In the district court, his allegations that his health will
suffer if he is required to work in the prison kitchen or in the outside labor pool
were unsupported by any recent medical evidence. Any new evidence should be
presented to the district court in the first instance.
In addition, appellant has not shown that he is likely to succeed on appeal.
Although he presented some evidence to the district court showing that Lexington
medical officials have placed some restrictions on the heat he can tolerate while
working, he presented no evidence to show that his assigned jobs violate these
restrictions. Again, to the extent that he is relying on more recent evidence, he
should present it first to the district court or to prison officials. Based on this
appellate record, he has not demonstrated that the district court abused its
discretion or that his right to preliminary relief was “clear and unequivocal,”
Kikumura v. Hurley, 242 F.3d 950, 955 (10th Cir. 2001) (quotation omitted), and
he has not met the stringent standards required for an injunction pending appeal in
this court under 10th Cir. R. 8.1.
In addition, we caution appellant that the practice of incorporating by
reference arguments made in other pleadings is disfavored in this court and could
result in the waiver of his arguments. See Gaines-Tabb v. ICI Explosives, USA,
Inc., 160 F.3d 613, 623-24 (10th Cir. 1998). Appellant adopted by reference the
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arguments he presented in a prior petition for writ of mandamus and in his
objections to the magistrate judge’s report–“so as to not burden this Honorable
Court with academic reading perusal.” Aplt. Opening Br. at 2. Appellant should
have fully set out his arguments in his motion for an injunction pending appeal
and in his opening brief.
Appellant’s motion for leave to proceed without prepayment of costs and
fees is granted. He is reminded that he is obligated to continue making payments
until the filing fee is paid in full.
The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. Appellant’s motion for
an injunction pending appeal is denied.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT
PER CURIAM
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