The self-represented, incarcerated plaintiff brought this action against the
defendant, a former state correctional institution administrative captain,
claiming violations of his federal constitutional rights. The plaintiff
alleged that the defendant retaliated against him for providing legal
advice to his fellow inmates by ordering the search of the plaintiff’s
cell, the seizure of items from his cell, and the removal of the plaintiff
from his job at the prison’s gym. Following a trial to the court, the court
rendered judgment in favor of the defendant, finding that the plaintiff
failed to prove that he was engaged in an activity protected by the first
amendment, that he was denied access to the courts in a specific,
pending, personal action, and that there was any causal connection
between his alleged protected conduct and the defendant’s alleged retal-
iatory acts. From that judgment, the plaintiff appealed to this court.
Held that the trial court properly rendered judgment in favor of the
defendant, as that court’s finding that the plaintiff had failed to prove
a causal connection between his conduct and the defendant’s alleged
retaliation was not clearly erroneous: the court concluded that there
was no evidence of a retaliatory motive on the basis of the defendant’s
testimony, which the court expressly found was credible, and the court
noted that the only evidence to establish a causal relationship between
the discharge of the plaintiff from his gym job and any claimed protected
activity was that of temporal proximity, which the court found insuffi-
cient to establish a causal connection; ample evidence supported the
court’s finding that the defendant’s actions that the plaintiff alleged were
retaliatory were premised solely on legitimate motives, and, although
the plaintiff pointed to evidence that he asserted supported his claim
of retaliation, the mere existence of evidence to support an alternative
conclusion is not sufficient to reverse a trial court’s findings of fact.
Submitted on briefs December 11, 2019—officially released March 10, 2020 Procedural History