Kenyatta v. Jimenez

Background

Charles Kenyatta, Jr., who is incarcerated at Collins Correctional Facility, filed this civil action without a filing-fee payment, a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees, or a prisoner authorization. He is representing himself.

Court’s order

The court ordered Kenyatta, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay $405 in fees, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee, or submit the attached application to proceed without prepaying fees and prisoner authorization. If the court grants the application, the $350 filing fee must still be collected in installments from his account under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The prisoner authorization permits deductions and requires certified account statements for the previous six months.

No summons will issue at this time. If Kenyatta complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed period, the action will be dismissed.

Appeal and caution

The court certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and therefore denied fee-free status for an appeal. The order also cautioned that a later dismissal for being frivolous, malicious, or failing to state a claim could count as a statutory “strike” affecting a prisoner’s ability to proceed without prepaying fees in future federal civil actions.