The opinion
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
CHARLES DOUGLAS YODER,
Plaintiff,
v. Case No. 22-cv-2004-NJR
PRINCE, JONATHAN WINTERS,
OWENS, KIM JOHNSON, DANIEL
MONTI, MARGARET MADOLE, ROB
JEFFREYS, ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT
OF CORRECTIONS, STATEWIDE
COMMISSARY COMMITTEE,
Defendants.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
ROSENSTENGEL, Chief Judge:
Plaintiff Charles Douglas Yoder, an inmate of the Illinois Department of
Corrections (“IDOC”) who is currently incarcerated at Robinson Correctional Center,
brings this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for deprivations of his constitutional rights
while at Shawnee Correctional Center (“Shawnee”). In the Complaint, Yoder alleges he
was denied access to a “body puff” in violation of his equal protection rights under the
Fourteenth Amendment.
This case is now before the Court for preliminary review of the Complaint
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. Under Section 1915A, the Court is required to screen
prisoner complaints to filter out non-meritorious claims. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). Any
portion of a complaint that is legally frivolous, malicious, fails to state a claim upon which
relief may be granted, or asks for money damages from a defendant who by law is
immune from such relief must be dismissed. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b).
The Complaint
In his Complaint, Yoder makes the following allegations: On October 12, 2021,
Yoder submitted a commissary order for numerous items including a “body puff”
(Doc. 1, p. 4). The puff was advertised on the inmate commissary price list as being for
sale to all inmates in general population (Id.). Yoder alleges that there is only one products
list and that the prison does not have separate products list for certain groups of
individuals (Id.). On October 13, 2021, Yoder went to the commissary to pick up his order
and noted that the order was missing some items, including the “body puff”. The
commissary supervisor informed Yoder that the puff was only available for transgender
inmates (Id. at p. 5). A commissary worker made a joke about the request and other
inmates began calling Yoder names (Id.). Yoder alleges that the policy allowing only
transgendered individuals access to a “body puff” violates his equal protection rights
under the Fourteenth Amendment and amounts to gender and/or reverse discrimination
(Id. at p. 7). He also alleges the policy violates several state-created rights.
On October 14, 2021, Yoder submitted a grievance about the policy preventing him
from obtaining a “body puff”. Counselor Jonathan Winters responded that the puff is
only approved for transgender individuals per guidelines set by the statewide
commissary committee (Id. at p. 6). Grievance officer Kim Johnson, Chief Administrative
Officer Monti, and Rob Jeffreys denied his grievance (Id.).
Discussion
Simply put, Yoder fails to state any claim. An action fails to state a claim upon
which relief can be granted if it does not plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that
is plausible on its face.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). Conversely,
a complaint is plausible on its face “when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows
the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct
alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009).
Yoder alleges that Defendants violated his equal protection rights and that he was
subjected to sex discrimination. He alleges that he was discriminated against because he
was not allowed to purchase a “body puff” because the puffs were only for transgendered
inmates. To establish an equal protection discrimination claim, a plaintiff must “show
that he is a member of a protected class, that he is otherwise similarly situated to members
of the unprotected class, and that he was treated differently from members of the
unprotected class.” Brown v. Budz, 398 F.3d 904, 916 (7th Cir. 2005). A “prison
administrative decision may give rise to an equal protection claim only if the plaintiff can
establish that ‘state officials had purposefully and intentionally discriminated against
him.’” Meriwether v. Faulkner, 821 F.2d 408, 415 n.7 (7th Cir. 1987), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 935
(1987) (citing Shango v. Jurich, 681 F.2d 1091, 1104 (7th Cir.1982)). To state a claim for
unconstitutional discrimination, the Complaint must suggest that a prison official
“singled out a particular group for disparate treatment and selected his course of action
at least in part for the purpose of causing its adverse effects on the identifiable group.”
Nabozny v. Podlesny, 92 F.3d 446, 453–54 (7th Cir. 1996)
Yoder simply fails to state an equal protection claim. First, there is no
constitutional right to purchase items (food or non-food) from a commissary at all. See
Brown v. Gulash, Case No. 07-cv-370-JPG, 2009 WL 2144592, at *5 (S.D. Ill. July 16, 2009)
(collecting cases); see also Tokar v. Armontrout, 97 F.3d 1078, 1083 (8th Cir.1996) (“we know
of no constitutional right of access to a prison gift or snack shop”). Further, he has not
identified himself as part of a protected class and there are no allegations to suggest that
the lack of access to a “body puff” constitutes disparate treatment. He also fails to allege
that he was singled out for disparate treatment because of his membership in any
protected class. Although Yoder takes issue with the policy to only offer “body puffs” to
transgender inmates, rather than general population inmates, there are simply no
allegations to suggest that this decision was made for the purpose of discriminating
against cisgender inmates.
The Complaint also fails to state a class-of-one equal protection claim. To state such
a claim, an individual must allege that he was “intentionally treated differently from
others similarly situated and that there is no rational basis for the difference in
treatment.” Swanson v. Chetek, 719 F.3d 780, 784–85 (7th Cir. 2013) (quoting Vill. of
Willowbrook v. Olech, 528 U.S. 562, 564 (2000)); Forgue v. City of Chicago, 873 F.3d 962, 968
(7th Cir. 2017). Even if access to a “body puff” could give rise to such a claim—an
assumption this Court is reluctant to entertain even for this hypothetical—Yoder must
suggest that he is similarly situated to those at Shawnee who had access to a “body puff”.
He has not alleged that similarly situated inmates had access to a “body puff”. In fact, he
acknowledges that the “body puff” was only available to transgendered inmates and not
the general population at Shawnee.
Finally, to the extent Yoder seeks to raise a claim for any of the statements made
by staff which he took offense to or felt was harassment, Yoder fails to state a claim.
“Standing alone, simple verbal harassment does not constitute cruel and unusual
punishment, deprive a prisoner of a protected liberty interest or deny a prisoner equal
protection of the laws.” Dewalt v. Carter, 224 F.3d 607, 612 (7th Cir. 2000).
Thus, Yoder fails to state a claim for his inability to purchase a “body puff” at the
commissary. To the extent he seeks to raise any other federal or state law claim, he relies
on only conclusory statements that his rights were violated. Further, the Court fails to see
any other constitutional claim which could be raised by the allegations in Yoder’s
Complaint. But the Court will grant Yoder leave to amend his Complaint to the extent he
believes any other constitutional right or federal claim is implicated by his allegations.
Disposition
For the reasons stated above, Yoder’s Complaint is DISMISSED without
prejudice. Yoder is GRANTED leave to file a “First Amended Complaint” on or before
July 10, 2023. Should Yoder fail to file his First Amended Complaint within the allotted
time or consistent with the instructions set forth in this Order, the entire case shall be
dismissed with prejudice for failure to comply with a court order and/or for failure to
prosecute his claims. Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b). See generally Ladien v. Astrachan, 128 F.3d 1051
(7th Cir. 1997); Johnson v. Kamminga, 34 F.3d 466 (7th Cir. 1994); 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). The
dismissal shall count as one of Yoder’s three allotted “strikes” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
Anamended complaint supersedes and replaces the original complaint, rendering
the original complaint void. See Flannery v. Recording Indus. Ass'n of Am., 354 F.3d 632, 638
n. 1 (7th Cir. 2004). The Court will not accept piecemeal amendments to the original
Complaint. Thus, the First Amended Complaint must stand on its own, without reference
to any previous pleading, and Yoder must re-file any exhibits he wishes the Court to
consider along with the First Amended Complaint. The First Amended Complaint is
subject to review pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.
Yoder is further ADVISED that his obligation to pay the filing fee for this action
was incurred at the time the action was filed, thus the filing fee remains due and payable,
regardless of whether Yoder elects to file a First Amended Complaint. See 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(b)(1); Lucien v. Jockisch, 133 F.3d 464, 467 (7th Cir. 1998).
Finally, Yoder is ADVISED that he is under a continuing obligation to keep the
Clerk of Court and each opposing party informed of any change in his address; the Court
will not independently investigate his whereabouts. This shall be done in writing and not
later than seven days after a transfer or other change in address occurs. Failure to comply
with this Order will cause a delay in the transmission of court documents and may result
in dismissal of this action for want of prosecution. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: June 12, 2023 Tl (ocaitig
magi
NANCY J. ROSENSTENGEL
Chief U.S. District Judge