Roberts v. Jackson Parish

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA MONROE DIVISION JOEL N ROBERTS #519216 CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:24-00057 (Sec. P.) VERSUS JUDGE EDWARDS SHERIFFS DEPT JACKSON PARISH, ET AL MAG. JUDGE KAYLA D. MCCLUSKY MEMORANDUM ORDER Pending before the undersigned is a motion for transfer filed by Plaintiff Joel N. Roberts. Mr. Roberts is currently housed at Madison Parish Correctional Center, but has filed a lawsuit only against the Sheriff of Jackson Parish and others associated with the Jackson Parish Correctional Center. However, Mr. Roberts now raises issues regarding his placement at Madison Parish Correctional Center. First, if Mr. Robert wishes to bring suit against individuals at Madison Parish Correctional Center, he must file a separate lawsuit. Second, regardless, Mr. Roberts seeks a remedy that the Court cannot provide. While Mr. Roberts appears to be a pre-trial detainee, generally a prisoner has no constitutional right to be housed in any particular facility or transferred from one facility to another, even if conditions and amenities in one may be preferable to another. Olim v. Wakinekona, 461 U.S. 238, 245-46 (1983); Fuselier v. Mancuso, 354 F. App’x 49 , 2009 WL 3780729 , at *1 (5th Cir. Nov. 12, 2009). “The Due Process Clause does not, by itself, endow a prisoner with a protected liberty interest in the location of his confinement.” Yates v. Stalder, 217 F.3d 332, 334 (5th Cir. 2000); Meachum v. Fano, 427 U.S. 215, 225 (1976) (“[T]he State may confine [a prisoner] and subject him to the rules of its prison system so long as the conditions of confinement do not otherwise violate the Constitution.”). In Maddox v. Thomas, 671 F.2d 949, 950 (Sth Cir. 1982), the Fifth Circuit specifically held that a that a Dallas County pretrial detainee had “no Fourteenth Amendment liberty interest in being imprisoned at one carcel rather than other, even if ‘life in one is much more disagreeable than in another...’ ” (Citing Meacham v. Fano, 427 U.S. 215, 225 (1976)). It is “well settled that the decision where to house inmates is at the core of prison administrators’ expertise.” McKune v. Lile, 536 U.S. 24, 39 (2002). IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Mr. Robert’s motion for transfer is DENIED. If Mr. Roberts wishes to raise claims against individuals at the Madison Parish Correctional Center, he must file a separate action. The Clerk of Court is instructed to attach a copy of the appropriate forms to this Order. MONROE, LOUISIANA, this 1* day of April, 2024. ih Ac KAY} E MCCIUSKY UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE