Belden v. Lampert

Justia.com Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-Appellant Gary Belden was sentenced in Wyoming state court to life imprisonment after being convicted of first-degree murder and first-degree sexual assault. He was transferred to an out-of-state prison in 2003, shortly after his conviction was affirmed by the Wyoming state supreme court. In 2011, Plaintiff sued prison officials alleging that the Wyoming Department of Corrections had violated his constitutional right to access the courts while he was incarcerated outside Wyoming. The Department successfully moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim. Plaintiff appealed. The Tenth Circuit found that the Constitution "does not guarantee access to the courts to file frivolous claims." The Court noticed that during the time Plaintiff was incarcerated, he engaged in "a good deal" of litigation. Hence, the Court concluded that the district court properly dismissed Plaintiff's access-to-court claim because he failed to show that he had a nonfrivolous claim that he was hindered in pursuing while incarcerated outside Wyoming.



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