Watkins v. Monroe College
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-03533
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 6
In Watkins v. Monroe College, Judge Swain ordered Jevon D. Watkins to pay filing fees or submit prisoner authorization within 30 days.
Jevon D. Watkins, whose case cannot proceed unless he pays the required fees or submits the required prisoner authorization, or explains that he was not a prisoner when he filed.
What happened
In Watkins v. Monroe College, Jevon D. Watkins filed the case without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying the fees upfront. He stated that he was incarcerated at Norristown State Hospital, and the court said he appeared to qualify as a prisoner under the relevant law.
The court ordered Watkins, within 30 days, either to pay $405 in fees or submit a completed prisoner authorization. If he was not a prisoner when he filed the case, he must instead explain his status using the provided declaration form. The court directed that no summons issue for now and warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal of the action.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued the order on May 9, 2025. The order addresses filing-fee and prisoner-status requirements; it does not decide the claims against Monroe College or the other defendants.
The detailed version
- Watkins v. Monroe College · No. 1:25-cv-03533
- Laura Swain
- May 9, 2025
Background
Jevon D. Watkins sued Monroe College, Terry Karg, former Dean Ginese, a John Doe college financial-aid administrator, and College President Jerome. Watkins is proceeding without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying filing fees, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Watkins stated that he was incarcerated at Norristown State Hospital, which the order describes as a state forensic psychiatric hospital. The complaint also stated that he was incarcerated and appeared to include a prisoner identification number. The court therefore said it appeared that Watkins was a “prisoner” when he filed the action under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(h), although the order allowed him to explain if that was not his status.
Order
The court explained that a person filing a civil action generally must pay $405: a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. A prisoner who is allowed to proceed without prepaying fees must still pay the $350 filing fee in installments from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization permits the court to obtain certified account statements and directs the facility holding the prisoner to make those payments.
Within 30 days of the order, Watkins must either pay the $405 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 25-CV-3533 (LTS). If Watkins was not a prisoner as defined by Section 1915(h) when he filed the complaint, he must provide an explanation of his status using the attached declaration form.
No summons will issue at this time. If Watkins complies with the order, 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. The court also certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
Effect of the Order
This order does not decide the underlying claims against any defendant. It requires Watkins to satisfy filing-fee and prisoner-status requirements before the case proceeds.
Read the full 6-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.