Kenneth Blake v. MO Dept. of Corrections, No. 14-3516 (8th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseCourt Description: Per Curiam - Before Smith, Bye and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Civil rights and Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Defendants' summary judgment affirmed without comment.
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United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 14-3516 ___________________________ Kenneth L. Blake lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellant Sidney Lanier; Lloyd Davis; Sultan Lane lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiffs v. Missouri Department of Corrections; Dwayne Kempker; Mike Kemna; Larry Denney; Terry Page; Darin Morgan; John Brown; Montgomery; Dana Hughes; Dan Greene; Russell Hollowell; Karon Gatton; M. Pettigrew; R. Lima; Bradley Bird; Vincent Negus; A. Francis; Doug Worsham; David Mansingh; Lilly Moore; Robin Norris; C.O.I. Cooper; John Does; Bradley Burd; Scott Cooper; Amy Francis; Brian Montgomery; Mandy Pettigrew; Kimberly Ross; James Helton; Wayne Hurley; Lora Welling; Tobey McMullen; Benjamin Brooke lllllllllllllllllllll Defendants - Appellees ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri - St. Joseph ____________ Submitted: November 24, 2015 Filed: January 15, 2016 [Unpublished] ____________ Before SMITH, BYE, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM. Missouri inmate Kenneth L. Blake appeals the district court’s1 adverse grant of summary judgment in this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Upon careful consideration of Blake’s arguments for reversal, and de novo review of the record relevant to the claims he raises on appeal, see Murchison v. Rogers, 779 F.3d 882, 886-87 (8th Cir. 2015) (summary judgment standard of review); Hess v. Ables, 714 F.3d 1048, 1051 n.2 (8th Cir. 2013) (abandonment of claims), we find no basis for reversal. We also find no abuse of discretion in the district court’s denial of appointed counsel, see Phillips v. Jasper County Jail, 437 F.3d 791,794 (8th Cir. 2006) (there is no constitutional or statutory right to appointed counsel in civil case; relevant criteria), or in the denial of class certification, see Chaffin v. Rheem Mfg. Co., 904 F.2d 1269, 1275-76 (8th Cir. 1990). The judgment of the district court is affirmed. ______________________________ 1 The Honorable Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr., United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri. -2-
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