Talal v. White

Appellant, Lutfi Shaqf Talal (a.k.a. James Taylor), appeals the district courts dismissal of his civil rights complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1) for failure to state a claim. The issues on appeal are whether (1) the district court erred in dismissing the Middle Tennessee Reception Center (MTRC) defendants; (2) Talal has stated a viable Eighth Amendment claim based on exposure to high levels of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS or smoke); and (3) Talals allegations of retaliation are sufficient to state a claim under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The Court must also decide whether to grant Talals request for appointment of counsel. Upon review of the record and applicable law, we find no error on the part of the district court in dismissing the MTRC defendants. However, we conclude that Talal has alleged facts sufficient to satisfy the components of an Eighth Amendment claim. Therefore, we AFFIRM the district courts decision regarding the MTRC defendants but REVERSE with regard to the Eighth Amendment claim. Because the district court did not address the retaliation claim, we REMAND that issue for the Courts consideration. We GRANT Talals request for appointed counsel.