Jason Kelly Bowers v. Unknown Jones

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan granted Defendant Jones’s motion for summary judgment in Plaintiff Jason Bowers’s § 1983 First Amendment retaliation action. The court held that Plaintiff’s threatened grievance was frivolous because it challenged Defendant’s communication of another prison official’s decision to cancel visitation, and therefore did not constitute protected conduct. The court declined to adopt the magistrate judge’s Report and Recommendation and directed entry of judgment for Defendant.

Holdings

1. A prisoner's threat to file a grievance is not protected First Amendment conduct when the proposed grievance is frivolous and lacks an arguable basis in law or fact.
2. Defendant was entitled to summary judgment because Plaintiff could not establish the protected-conduct element of his sole First Amendment retaliation claim.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Plaintiff's threatened grievance constituted protected conduct under the First Amendment where it challenged Defendant's communication of another prison official's decision to cancel Plaintiff's visits.
2. Whether Defendant was entitled to summary judgment on Plaintiff's First Amendment retaliation claim.

Disposition

other