Guerrier v. Rickard
- John Cronan
- 1:25-cv-00992
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Guerrier v. Rickard, Judge Swain ordered the petitioner to pay the filing fee or submit an application to proceed without prepaying it.
The order directly affects Edwin Guerrier by requiring him to pay the $5 filing fee or submit an IFP application within 30 days to continue the case. E. Rickard was not required to answer at this stage.
What happened
In Guerrier v. Rickard, Edwin Guerrier filed a petition asking the court to review his detention through a legal process called habeas corpus. He was proceeding without a lawyer.
Guerrier submitted the petition without paying the required $5 filing fee and without an application to proceed without prepaying court fees.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Guerrier, within 30 days, to pay the fee or submit a signed application. The court said the case would be processed if he complied and would be dismissed if he did not. The court also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Guerrier v. Rickard · No. 1:25-cv-00992
- John Cronan
- Feb. 6, 2025
Background
Edwin Guerrier, who was proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus against E. Rickard, identified in the caption as Warden of FCI Otisville. The opinion does not decide the substance of Guerrier’s habeas claims.
Filing-fee requirement
The court explained that a person filing a habeas petition must either pay the $5 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application. Guerrier submitted neither the fee nor the application.
Order
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Guerrier to pay the $5 filing fee or complete and submit the attached IFP application within 30 days of the order. If the court grants the application, Guerrier may proceed without paying fees in advance. The court stated that no response from the respondent was required at that time. If Guerrier complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he does not comply within the permitted 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 IFP status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.