Wright v. RMSC Deputy Warden

Background

Marcus Wright filed this civil action while incarcerated at the Rose M. Singer Center. The opinion states that he is proceeding without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without paying the required filing fees and without a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.

Fees and required forms

The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $405—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submit a signed application requesting permission to proceed without prepaying fees, together with a prisoner authorization. If that application is granted, the $350 filing fee must be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to deduct those payments and provide certified account statements for the preceding six months. The $55 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted this status.

Ruling

Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Wright to do one of the following within 30 days of the order: pay the $405 in fees, or submit the attached application and prisoner authorization. Any submitted documents must identify docket number 24-CV-7029 (LTS). The court stated that no response from the defendants was required at that time. If Wright complies, the case 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 also certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. The order cautioned that certain future dismissals of prisoner cases may count as strikes under the applicable federal statute. This order did not address the merits of Wright’s claims.