Bacon v. Reed

Background

Ryan-Mykal S. Bacon, who was incarcerated at Sullivan Correctional Facility and represented himself, brought an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal civil-rights statute. He sued correction officer Brett Reed and Johnathan Jones, who was also incarcerated at Sullivan Correctional Facility. Bacon alleged that on May 5, 2020, Reed gave Bacon’s Rastafarian meal to Jones, who is Jewish. Bacon also alleged that Reed had harassed him in the past and “constantly messes with” him. He sought $3 million in damages and asked that Reed be fired or transferred to another prison.

The court had previously allowed Bacon to proceed without paying the filing fee at the outset. Because Bacon was incarcerated and proceeding without a lawyer, the court screened his complaint under federal statutes requiring dismissal of prisoner complaints that are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim, or seek relief from an immune defendant.

Claims Against Johnathan Jones

The court dismissed the claim against Jones. A claim under § 1983 requires facts showing that the defendant acted under state law or on behalf of the government. The court treated Jones as a private party and found that Bacon alleged only that Jones received the meal, not that Jones acted in connection with work for the government. The court therefore concluded that Bacon had not stated a § 1983 claim against Jones.

Religious-Practice Claims Against Brett Reed

The court construed Bacon’s religious-freedom allegations as raising claims under the First Amendment’s protection for religious exercise and under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. The court explained that incarcerated people retain some First Amendment protection for religious practices, including religious diets.

For the First Amendment claim, however, the court found that Bacon had not alleged facts showing that Reed significantly interfered with his religious beliefs. The court therefore concluded that the allegations failed to state a Free Exercise Clause claim and granted Bacon leave to provide additional supporting facts in an amended complaint.

The court also explained that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act bars the government from substantially burdening an incarcerated person’s religious exercise unless the burden satisfies strict requirements involving a compelling government interest and the least restrictive means. If Bacon sought to assert such a claim in an amended complaint, he had to name the appropriate government entity and allege facts showing a substantial burden. The court noted that this law does not allow individual-capacity suits against Reed.

Harassment Allegations

The court held that Bacon’s allegations that Reed had harassed him and constantly bothered him did not state a constitutional claim. Verbal abuse, threats, or intimidation, without injury or damage, do not by themselves amount to a constitutional violation under § 1983.

Disposition

The court dismissed Bacon’s complaint for failure to state a claim for relief. It granted Bacon 60 days to file an amended complaint containing additional facts about each claim and defendant, including the relevant events, dates, locations, injuries, and requested relief. The amended complaint would replace the original complaint rather than supplement it.

The court instructed the Clerk of Court to keep the matter open until a civil judgment was entered. If Bacon did not timely amend and could not show good cause, the court stated that it would enter a civil judgment consistent with the order and terminate the matter. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepayment of fees for an appeal.