568 F. App'x 114

Maurice GOODEN, Appellant v. WARDEN ATLANTIC COUNTY JAIL; Steven Iuliucci, S.I.D.; Ofc. William Platt; Ofc. Timothy Keating; Ofc. Joseph Conrad.

No. 13-4008.

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a) April 25, 2014.

Opinion filed: June 13, 2014.

Maurice Gooden, Trenton, NJ, pro se.

James T. Dugan, Esq., Atlantic City, NJ, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before: HARDIMAN, NYGAARD and ROTH, Circuit Judges.

OPINION

PER CURIAM.

Maurice Gooden appeals pro se from the judgment of no cause for action entered by the District Court following a jury trial in this civil rights action brought by Gooden under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. For the reasons that follow, we will affirm.

I.

Because we write primarily for the parties, who are familiar with this case’s extensive procedural history, we discuss that history only to the extent needed to resolve this appeal. In 2007, Gooden commenced this action by filing a pro se complaint against five corrections officials from the Atlantic County Jail (“ACJ”) in New Jersey. Gooden alleged that, on two occasions in 2006, he was attacked by some of the defendants while housed in the ACJ as a pretrial detainee. The defendants ultimately moved the District Court for summary judgment. In 2011, the District Court granted that motion with respect to two of the defendants—ACJ’s warden and Sergeant Steven Iuliucci—but denied the motion with respect to Officers Conrad, Keating, and Platt (“Appellees”).

In September 2013, Gooden’s claims against Appellees were tried before a jury.1 At the end of the trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Appellees. As a result, the District Court entered a judgment of no cause for action. This appeal followed.2

II.

Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 10(b)(1) requires an appellant to order, within 14 days of filing the notice of appeal, a transcript of the parts of the District Court proceedings “not already on file as the appellant considers necessary.” Fed. RApp. P. 10(b)(1). Our local rules also require an appellant to order such a transcript, and they provide that an appellant who cannot afford the cost of the transcript may move to have the transcript *115prepared at government expense pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 753(f). See 3d Cir. LAR 11.1.

In this case, we have no trial transcript before us. Gooden neither paid the court reporter to produce that transcript nor moved for relief under § 753(f). In fact, even after Appellees highlighted his failure to do so in their merits brief, Gooden did not file a reply or take any other action. With this in mind, we turn to his claims on appeal.

As best we can tell, Gooden’s informal merits brief raises as many as five claims. First, he contends that the District Court erred by failing to admit certain medical records and “pictures” at trial. Second, he claims that his “pre-trial memorandum” was “stolen [a]t court” by “Sheriff or Federal Agents.” Third, he alleges that the District Court conspired with Appellees’ counsel. Fourth, he appears to raise some challenge to an aspect of the District Court’s charge to the jury. Finally, he claims that a witness statement was improperly withheld from the jury.

Gooden’s second and third claims are nothing more than bald assertions and give us no reason to disturb the District Court’s judgment. As for the remaining three claims, they, too, are undeveloped. But more importantly, those three claims concern issues that cannot be resolved without reviewing the trial transcript. Because Gooden has failed to order that transcript, we are unable to review those three claims.3

In light of the above, we 'will affirm the District Court’s judgment.4

Gooden v. Warden Atlantic County Jail
568 F. App'x 114

Case Details

Name
Gooden v. Warden Atlantic County Jail
Decision Date
Jun 13, 2014
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568 F. App'x 114

Jurisdiction
United States

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