Hernandez v. Dutches County
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-04500
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Hernandez v. Dutchess County, Chief Judge Swain ordered Rafael A. Hernandez to pay fees or submit authorization before the case proceeds.
Rafael A. Hernandez, an incarcerated plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer, must either prepay the required fees or submit the required prisoner authorization within 30 days for the case to proceed.
What happened
In Hernandez v. Dutchess County, Rafael A. Hernandez, who is incarcerated and representing himself, submitted an application to proceed without paying court fees upfront. He did not submit the required prisoner authorization form.
The court ordered him, within 30 days, either to pay $405 in fees or to complete and submit the authorization. That form would allow the facility holding him to deduct the $350 filing fee from his account in installments and provide the court with certified account statements for the previous six months.
The court directed that no summons issue yet and said the case would be processed if Hernandez complied. It stated that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply on time. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Hernandez v. Dutches County · No. 1:24-cv-04500
- Laura Swain
- June 14, 2024
Background
Rafael A. Hernandez, who was incarcerated at Washington Correctional Facility, filed this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying court fees, commonly called an application to proceed without paying fees upfront. He did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Court’s requirements
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. If permission to proceed without prepayment is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires collection of the $350 filing fee through installment deductions from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and send the court certified account statements for the prior six months.
The court gave Hernandez 30 days from the date of the order to either prepay the $405 or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 24-CV-4500 (LTS). No summons would issue at that time. If Hernandez complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Ruling
The court also certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not decide the merits of Hernandez’s claims or itself dismiss the action. The order was signed by Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.