Willson v. Federal Bureau of Prisons
- Nelson Roman
- 7:24-cv-09897
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Willson v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, Judge Swain ordered Gregory Willson to pay the fee or apply to proceed without paying fees within 30 days.
Gregory Willson must either pay the $5 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without paying fees within 30 days. If he does not comply, the action will be dismissed without prejudice. The Federal Bureau of Prisons was not required to answer at this stage.
What happened
In Willson v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, Gregory Willson filed a petition for a court order in a habeas case without paying the required filing fee or submitting an application to proceed without paying fees.
The court gave Willson 30 days to pay the $5 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without paying fees. The court said no response from the Federal Bureau of Prisons was required at that time.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the case would be dismissed without prejudice if Willson did not comply. She also denied permission to appeal without paying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Willson v. Federal Bureau of Prisons · No. 7:24-cv-09897
- Nelson Roman
- Jan. 3, 2025
Background
Gregory Willson, who was proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. A habeas petition asks a court to issue an order concerning a person's custody or detention. Willson submitted the petition without the required filing fee and without an application to proceed without paying fees.
Order
The court ordered Willson, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $5 filing fee or complete and submit the attached application to proceed without paying fees. The application had to identify docket number 24-CV-9897 (LTS). The court explained that, if it approved the application, Willson could proceed without paying fees in advance.
The court stated that the Federal Bureau of Prisons did not need to respond at that time. If Willson failed to comply within the allowed period, the action would be dismissed without prejudice, meaning the opinion did not bar refiling.
Appeal and disposition
The court certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying fees. 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.