Thomas v. Federal Government

Background

Glenn Macpherson Thomas filed this civil action while incarcerated at USP Coleman and is representing himself. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying court fees, commonly called an application to proceed without paying fees upfront, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.

The required authorization and fees

The court explained that a prisoner bringing a civil action must either pay $405—the $350 filing fee and $55 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. If the court grants that request, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires collection of the $350 filing fee through installment deductions from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization permits those deductions and directs the facility to provide certified copies of account statements for the previous six months. The $55 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.

Order

The court ordered Thomas to pay the $405 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization within 30 days of the order. No summons would issue at that time. If Thomas 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 that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.

The court cautioned that a later dismissal for frivolousness, maliciousness, or failure to state a claim could count as a “strike” under the federal prisoner-litigation statute. After three strikes, a prisoner generally cannot proceed without prepaying fees in new federal civil actions unless an imminent danger of serious physical injury exists.