Background
Richard Dennis Lancaster, a Texas prisoner, appealed the district court’s dismissal of his civil action brought under Bivens. The district court had certified that his appeal was not taken in good faith and dismissed the case. Lancaster moved to proceed in forma pauperis, challenging the certification and asserting that the defendants were federal officers.
The court’s reasoning
The Fifth Circuit determined that Lancaster demonstrated a nonfrivolous issue regarding the district court’s application of Heck v. Humphrey, entitling him to proceed in forma pauperis. However, the court found that Lancaster failed to show error in the determination that his claims do not fall within the remedy provided by Bivens. The court declined to decide whether the claims were also barred by Heck or the statute of limitations, noting that the Bivens determination was sufficient to affirm the dismissal.
What it means going forward
The prisoner is allowed to proceed without paying fees on appeal, but the underlying civil action remains dismissed. This dismissal counts as one strike under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, meaning two more strikes will bar him from filing future civil actions or appeals while incarcerated unless he faces imminent danger of serious physical injury.