Washington v. New York City

Background

Jamel Washington filed this civil action against New York City and other named defendants. The order states that Washington is incarcerated at the Eric M. Taylor Center on Rikers Island and is proceeding without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without paying the filing fees and without a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.

Fees and required filings

The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $405—the $350 filing fee plus a $55 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. To make that request, Washington must submit a signed application and a prisoner authorization. If permission is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the $350 filing fee to be collected in installments from his account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to deduct those payments and send the court certified account statements covering the previous six months.

Order

Within 30 days of the order, Washington must either pay the $405 in fees or submit the application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 25-CV-1246 (LTS). No answer from the defendants is required at this stage. If Washington complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office’s procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.

The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) 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-filed actions or appeals can count as “strikes” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), subject to the statutory exception for imminent danger of serious physical injury.