Richard Bryan v. Terrie Matsen

MEMORANDUM

Washington state prisoner Richard Wesley Bryan appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging First Amendment claims arising from the rejection of his mail. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review de novo the district court’s dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 341 (9th Cir.2010). We may affirm on any basis supported by the record, Johnson v. Riverside Healthcare Sys., LP, 534 F.3d 1116, 1121 (9th Cir.2008), and we affirm.

Dismissal of Bryan’s First Amendment claim alleging that defendants violated an internal prison policy by withholding his mail was proper because failure to follow internal prison policies does not rise to the level of a constitutional violation. See Cousins v. Lockyer, 568 F.3d 1063, 1070 (9th Cir.2009).

The district court properly dismissed Bryan’s retaliation claim because Bryan failed to allege facts showing that defendants rejected his mail in retaliation for filing a lawsuit, or that defendants had no legitimate penological reason for rejecting his mail. See Brodheim v. Cry, 584 F.3d 1262, 1269 (9th Cir.2009) (elements of a…