Milton v. James
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-00824
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Milton v. James, Judge Swain ordered Robert Milton to pay the filing fee or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days.
Robert Milton must, within 30 days of the January 31, 2025 order, either pay the $5.00 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees; otherwise, the action will be dismissed. Letitia James was not required to answer at this stage.
What happened
In Milton v. James, Robert Milton filed a petition under the court’s habeas procedures without paying the $5 filing fee or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees. He is representing himself without a lawyer.
The court gave Milton 30 days from January 31, 2025, to pay the fee or submit a signed application. The court said no response from Letitia James was required yet, and warned that the case will be dismissed if Milton does not comply. The court also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal from this order.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued the order directing payment of the fee or submission of the application. The order did not decide the underlying petition.
The detailed version
- Milton v. James · No. 1:25-cv-00824
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 31, 2025
Background
Robert Milton filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The opinion states that Milton is proceeding pro se, meaning without a lawyer. He submitted the petition without the required $5.00 filing fee and without an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), which would ask the court for permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court ordered Milton, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $5.00 filing fee or complete and submit the attached signed IFP application. The court stated that, if it grants the application, Milton may proceed without prepaying fees. The order instructs that any submitted application should include the docket number stated by the court for that application.
No answer from Letitia James was required at that time. The court stated that, if Milton 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 would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal.
Disposition
Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued an order directing Milton to pay the filing fee or submit an IFP application. The order did not rule on the merits of Milton’s petition.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.