Robinson v. Benoit - Summary Judgment on First Amendment Prisoner Claims

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 02:14:12 +0000
Civil Rights

The US District Court for the Western District of Michigan granted summary judgment in favor of defendants Kristina Benoit, Jake Robinson (CO Robinson), and Erica Hershman in Case No. 2:24-cv-34, dismissing prisoner-plaintiff James Robinson's First Amendment claims. The court upheld the magistrate judge's recommendation to dismiss Robinson's access-to-the-courts claim as barred by the Preiser-Heck doctrine, which excludes from 42 U.S.C. § 1983 any claim whose success would necessarily imply the invalidity of a conviction. The court separately adjudicated and dismissed Robinson's legal-mail claim on its merits, finding no genuine dispute of material fact.