Childress v. Walker, No. 14-1204 (7th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseChildress claims that, upon completion of a prison‐sponsored reentry program at the Big Muddy River Correctional Center in Illinois, the instructor delivered a computer disk containing Childress’s resume to the property officer, who placed it in Childress’s property box. Childress later was discharged on mandatory supervised release, with a condition that he could not possess any computer‐related material. Following his release, a routine inspection of his living quarters revealed the envelope containing the computer disk. His release was revoked. After serving his extended sentence, Childress, acting pro se, filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, claiming violations of his rights under the Eighth Amendment and the Due Process Clause. The district court dismissed following review under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 28 U.S.C. 1915A. On reconsideration, the court determined that Childress was not a prisoner within the meaning of the PLRA but that his action should be dismissed on in forma pauperis review (28 U.S.C. 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii)). The Seventh Circuit reversed, finding dismissal premature. The complaint set forth sufficient facts to proceed against at least one defendant and Childress should have been granted the opportunity to amend his complaint to cure deficiencies in the remainder of his claims. The court failed to consider adequately Childress’s request to recruit counsel.
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