David D. Darring v. Larry Kincheloe, Superintendent of the Washington State Penitentiary

David Darring (“Darring”), a former prisoner and “jailhouse” lawyer at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, Washington, appeals the district court’s dismissal of his pro se, section 1983 action requesting injunctive relief and damages against the state prison superintendent. The district court granted the superintendent’s motion for summary judgment, finding that Darring’s request was moot because he had been transferred from the penitentiary at Walla Walla to another facility. We affirm.

I.

Darring filed this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 on April 16, 1984. His initial complaint, which was dismissed by the district court, alleged that an Institutional Order which was promulgated by the Washington State Penitentiary, violated Darring’s constitutional right to meaningful access to the courts.

On April 19, 1984, Darring filed an amended complaint, naming prison Superintendent Kincheloe. Darring challenged the same Institutional Order in his amended complaint, and sought damages and injunctive relief. Although his arguments challenging the Institutional Order are somewhat unclear, we must liberally construe Darring’s pro se claims. See, e.g., Estelle v. Gamble,…