Frivolous Suit Costs Convict Good-Time Credit

Glen Calvin James was four years into his six-year sentence for manslaughter when he sued the Texas prison system, complaining, among other things, that he had not been served dessert while in solitary confinement.

Now, state prison officials say, James has gotten his just deserts.

With a federal judge’s dismissal of the inmate’s suit as frivolous, James loses six months of good-time credit toward early release.

James, 38, convicted of involuntary manslaughter in a 1992 Fort Worth case, and Michael Anthony Moore, a 32-year-old burglar from Bryan, are the first Texas prisoners to be penalized under a new state law cracking down on frivolous lawsuits.

With inmate lawsuits piling up at the rate of 400 a month, officials with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice say there are plenty of others waiting in the wings.

The law, which went into effect last year, wipes out 180 days of good-time awards if a court deems that an inmate has filed four or more frivolous suits in a year.

Texas inmates can earn good-time credits for attending school or showing up at prison jobs. The credits are applied toward their sentences and often result in early release.

In addition to his suit over the loss of dessert while he was in solitary confinement for misbehavior, James sued TDCJ contending:

That he suffered hunger pangs because of inadequate food, forcing him to consider cannibalism.

That he hurt his wrist after being handcuffed and forced to drag two bags of his personal belongings as he was moved to a solitary cell.

That he was subjected to embarrassing strip searches.

That his religious freedoms were trampled.