Yzaguirre v. Levin

Background

Pro se plaintiff Jace R. Yzaguirre asked the court for permission to maintain his status as a person allowed to proceed without prepaying court fees in his appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The court noted that Yzaguirre had not previously been authorized to proceed without prepaying fees in federal court and directed him to submit an affidavit or sworn declaration meeting Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 24(a)(1).

Yzaguirre responded that he did not need to submit those materials because he had received permission to proceed without prepaying fees in the state court from which this action had been removed. The court stated that this was not a correct reading of the federal rules.

Court’s Analysis

The court nevertheless treated Yzaguirre’s submissions as satisfying Rule 24(a)(1). Those submissions indicated that he was unemployed and had no assets. The court also cited 28 U.S.C. § 1746(1), which permits sworn declarations to be used instead of affidavits, and a Second Circuit decision concerning acceptance of a substantially compliant declaration from a self-represented litigant.

Ruling

Judge J. Paul Oetken granted Yzaguirre’s request to proceed without prepaying fees on appeal. The order did not state any additional disposition of the case or appeal.