Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO.: 4:20-cv-104
07-16-2020
JOHN ROBERT DEMOS, Plaintiff, v. The U.S., et al. Defendants.
ORDER
After a careful de novo review of the entire record, the Court concurs with the Magistrate Judge's June 25, 2020, Report and Recommendation, (doc. 7), to which the defendant has filed objections (doc. 8). Plaintiff's sole objection is founded on his belief that this Court is precluded from considering the decisions of other federal courts when determining whether his current action is barred by the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), (id. at p. 1). As this understanding is incorrect, the Court ADOPTS the Report and Recommendation as the its opinion.
PLRA bars a prisoner from proceeding in forma pauperis after filing three meritless actions, "unless the prisoner is under imminent danger of serious physical injury." 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). Plaintiff contends that the Court's consideration of his three-strikes status should be limited to its own jurisprudence. (Doc. 8, p. 1.) In support of his argument, he points to Akers v. Watts, 589 F. Supp. 2d 12 (D.D.C. 2008). Even if this case were binding on the Court, it runs contrary to Plaintiff's position. In Akers, the District of the District of Columbia recognized two strikes from the District of Kansas in considering a prisoner's status. Id. (recognizing as strikes Akers v. Martin, CV5:06-3175 (D. Kan. June 27, 2006) and Akers v. Vratil, CV5:05-3080 (D. Kan. Mar. 24, 2005)). It also noted that a case pending appeal in the Southern District of California would potentially qualify as a third strike once finalized. Id. at n. 5. The Eleventh Circuit has also affirmed dismissals by the district courts based on a prisoner's cases from multiple jurisdictions. See, e.g., Daker v. United States, 787 Fed. App'x. 678, 681 (11th Cir. 2019) (recognizing as valid strikes cases from the Central District of California, Second Circuit, and Eleventh Circuit). Accordingly, as plaintiff has pointed to no authority suggesting that the Court cannot consider strikes accumulated in other federal districts, the Court overrules the objections and adopts the Magistrate Judge's opinion as the opinion of the Court. Defendant's motion to proceed in forma pauperis is DENIED and the complaint DISMISSED. The Court DIRECTS the Clerk of Court to CLOSE this case.
SO ORDERED, this 16th day of July, 2020.
/s/_________
R. STAN BAKER
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA