Martinez-Ramos v. United States

Background

Rafael Martinez-Ramos, who is incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institution, Allenwood, filed a motion under Rule 41(g) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure seeking the return of property. The opinion states that his criminal proceedings had ended. Because a Rule 41(g) motion filed after the criminal case ends is treated as a civil equitable action, the court opened the matter as a new civil case.

Martinez-Ramos was proceeding without a lawyer and had not paid the required fees or submitted a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees, along with a prisoner authorization.

Order

The court ordered Martinez-Ramos, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay $405 in fees, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee, or submit the attached fee-waiver application and prisoner authorization. The opinion notes that the $55 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.

If the court grants the fee-waiver application, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires collection of the full $350 filing fee in installments from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization also directs the correctional facility to provide certified account statements for the prior six months and make the required deductions.

If Martinez-Ramos complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he fails to comply within the permitted time, the action will be dismissed without prejudice. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.

What the Order Did Not Decide

The court did not rule on the merits of Martinez-Ramos’s request for the return of property. It only addressed the filing-fee and fee-waiver requirements needed for the civil action to proceed.