Davis v. Trump
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-02101
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Davis v. Trump, Chief Judge Swain ordered Raheem Davis to pay filing fees or submit prisoner authorization within 30 days.
Raheem Davis, an incarcerated plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer; the action may be dismissed if he does not pay the fees or submit the required authorization within 30 days.
What happened
Davis v. Trump concerns Raheem Davis’s attempt to bring a civil case while incarcerated and without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without paying fees upfront, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court gave Davis 30 days to either pay $405 in fees or complete and submit the authorization. The authorization would permit prison officials to deduct the $350 filing fee from his account in installments and provide the court with account statements from the previous six months.
The court said no summons would issue yet and that the case would be processed if Davis complied. If he did not comply on time, the action would be dismissed. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without paying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Davis v. Trump · No. 1:25-cv-02101
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 17, 2025
Background
Raheem Davis, who is incarcerated at the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, filed this civil action without a lawyer. The opinion does not describe the claims in his complaint. Davis submitted an application to proceed without prepaying court fees, commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis, or IFP. He did not submit the separate prisoner authorization required for an incarcerated person seeking that status.
Fees and required authorization
The court explained that filing a civil action ordinarily requires $405: a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. A prisoner granted IFP status does not have to pay the $55 administrative fee, but the $350 filing fee must still be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The prisoner authorization directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and send the court certified account statements for the previous six months.
Order
Within 30 days of the order, Davis must either pay the $405 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 1:25-CV-2101 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time. If Davis complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures; if he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The opinion does not decide the merits of Davis’s underlying claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.