Henderson v. Williams

¶1 David E. Henderson, proceeding pro se, appeals the district court’s dismissal of his complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. On appeal, Henderson appears to have submitted a copy of his lower-court complaint as his appellate brief. Although we apply less stringent standards to pro se litigants and liberally construe their briefs, “pro se parties must still brief the issues and reasonably comply with the standards of’ Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 28 regarding the requirements for an appellate brief. Grant v. Cuellar, 59 F.3d 523, 524 (5th Cir.1995). Accordingly, because Henderson has not briefed the issues for appeal and has not reasonably complied with the requirements of Rule 28, we DISMISS his appeal for want of prosecution. Fed. R.App. P. 42.3.2 (“[W]hen appellant fails to order the transcript, fails to file a brief, or otherwise fails to comply with the rules of the court, the clerk must dismiss the appeal for want of prosecution.”); see also Grant, 59 F.3d at 524-25.