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Stow v. State Prison, 92-2231 (1993)

Court: Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Number: 92-2231 Visitors: 3
Filed: Oct. 06, 1993
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: October 6, 1993 [NOT FOR PUBLICATION] UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT ____________________ No. 92-2231 WESTON J. STOW, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. WARDEN, NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE PRISON, ET AL. Caldwell v. Miller, 790 F.2d ________ ______ 589, 606 (7th Cir. ________ -3-
USCA1 Opinion









October 6, 1993 [NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
____________________


No. 92-2231

WESTON J. STOW,

Plaintiff, Appellant,

v.

WARDEN, NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE PRISON, ET AL.,

Defendants, Appellees.


____________________

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE


[Hon. Joseph A. DiClerico, U.S. District Judge]

____________________

Before

Breyer, Chief Judge,
___________
Selya and Boudin, Circuit Judges.
______________

____________________

Weston J. Stow on brief pro se.
______________
Jeffrey R. Howard, Attorney General, and William C. McCallum,
__________________ _____________________
Assistant Attorney General, on brief for appellees.


____________________


____________________






















Per Curiam. Asserting that "effective meaningful
__________

legal research often requires browsing through as many as

thirty different lawbooks a day," and having been unable to

proceed at such a pace (at least when the volumes plaintiff

wished to consult were in the main library rather than in the

satellite library), plaintiff filed the present action. We

conclude that plaintiff's action was properly dismissed under

28 U.S.C. 1915(d).

The deficiencies plaintiff described in the

satellite library plus the limitation to two photocopy cases

per request from the main library may slow the pace of legal

research, but do not rise to the level of an unconstitutional

denial of access to the courts. Caldwell v. Miller, 790 F.2d
________ ______

589, 606 (7th Cir. 1986); Campbell v. Miller, 787 F.2d 217,
________ ______

225-30 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1019 (1986)
_____________

(prisoner limited to two books at a time, for which he may

wait twenty-four hours to one week to obtain). Plaintiff has

misjudged the standard by which the constitutional adequacy

of the legal resources are measured. The deficiencies

plaintiff identified may prevent plaintiff from preparing the

honed brief of a lawyer, but such is not required from a pro

se, whose filings are liberally construed. The deficiencies

complained of would not prevent plaintiff from adequately

communicating with the courts, and plaintiff's conclusory

assertion that he lost a case because of the deficiencies



















adds nothing. Nor was the state required to provide

plaintiff with assistance from someone trained in the law.

Cepulonis v. Fair, 732 F.2d 1, 6 (1st Cir. 1984) (inmate
_________ ____

entitled to adequate law library or assistance from persons

trained in the law, not both).

Plaintiff also asks this court to order the warden

of the Massachusetts prison where plaintiff is currently

housed to pay the postage for plaintiff's legal mail. We

deny plaintiff's motion. The Massachusetts warden is not a

party to this action. Furthermore, while plaintiff claims

that he has no funds in his prison account, he has not stated

that the warden has refused to provide postage for

appellant's legal mail. See Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817,
___ ______ _____

824-25 (1977) ("It is indisputable that indigent inmates must

be provided at state expense with paper and pen to draft

legal documents and with stamps to mail them"). In any

event, any challenge to the prison's mailing practices should

be brought in the district court.

We have considered all of plaintiff's allegations

and arguments and find them to be without merit.

Affirmed.
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Source:  CourtListener

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