Sanchez v. Howard
- Philip Halpern
- 7:24-cv-08528
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Sanchez v. Howard, Judge Swain ordered Carlos Sanchez to pay fees or submit a corrected prisoner authorization within 30 days.
Carlos Sanchez, an incarcerated plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer; the case will not proceed to summons issuance unless he pays the fees or submits the required authorization.
What happened
In Sanchez v. Howard, Carlos Sanchez, who is incarcerated and representing himself, filed a civil action that was transferred from the Northern District of New York to the Southern District of New York. His original prisoner authorization directed payments to the Northern District of New York.
The court ordered Sanchez, within 30 days, either to pay $405 in fees or to complete, sign, and submit the attached authorization for the Southern District of New York. The authorization would permit installment payments of the $350 filing fee from his prison account and provide the court with required account statements.
No summonses will issue yet. If Sanchez complies, the case will be processed by the Clerk’s Office; if he does not, the action will be dismissed. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied in forma pauperis status for any appeal from this order, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Sanchez v. Howard · No. 7:24-cv-08528
- Philip Halpern
- Nov. 15, 2024
Background
Carlos Sanchez, who is incarcerated at Woodbourne Correctional Facility and is proceeding without a lawyer, brought this civil action against David Howard and other defendants. The action was originally filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York and was later transferred to the Southern District of New York.
A prisoner filing a civil action must either pay the required fees or request permission to proceed without prepaying them. The total fee identified in the order is $405: a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. If a prisoner is allowed to proceed without prepayment, the $350 filing fee is still collected in installments from the prison trust account.
Order
Sanchez had submitted a prisoner authorization for the Northern District of New York. Because the case was transferred, that authorization permitted deductions to be sent only to the Northern District of New York rather than to this court.
The court ordered Sanchez, within 30 days of November 15, 2024, either to pay the $405 in fees or to complete, sign, and submit the attached prisoner authorization for the Southern District of New York, labeled with docket number 1:24-CV-8528 (LTS). The order states that no summonses will issue at this time. If Sanchez complies, the action will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied in forma pauperis status for purposes of an appeal. The order also cautioned that certain dismissals of prisoner actions can count as strikes under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
Classification
This is a procedural order concerning prisoner filing fees and authorization requirements. It does not decide the merits of Sanchez’s claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.