Wheeler v. Wexford Health Sources, Inc., No. 12-1806 (7th Cir. 2012)
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Wheeler filed a complaint alleging that prison officials and the prison’s medical provider, Wexford, have refused to provide effective care for his golf-ball-size hemorrhoids, leaving him in excruciating pain, 42 U.S.C.1983. More than 10 months later, the district judge had not screened the complaint under 28 U.S.C.1915A(a) and has denied three motions filed by Wheeler. Defendants have not been served; the litigation is stalled. The Seventh Circuit ordered the district court to proceed. Ten months exceeds any understanding of “as soon as practicable”. Delay is especially hard to understand when the complaint plausibly alleges a serious ongoing injury. Prisoners are not invariably wrong. A district judge should be able to spot a complaint violating Rules 18 and 20 within days of its filing, and solve the problem by severance (creating multiple suits that can be separately screened) or dismissing excess defendants under Fed. R. Civ. P. 21.
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The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on August 2, 2012.
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