In Re: Sheldon Williams
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-04537
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In re Sheldon Williams: Judge Swain ordered payment or fee-waiver and prisoner-authorization forms within 30 days, or the action will be dismissed.
Sheldon Williams, the incarcerated plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer, must either pay the required fees or submit the specified application and prisoner authorization within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In re Sheldon Williams concerns a civil action filed by Sheldon Williams, who the order says is incarcerated at the Rikers Island–West Facility Annex and is proceeding without a lawyer. He submitted his complaint without paying the required fees and without a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.
The court ordered Williams, within 30 days of the June 10, 2025 order, either to pay $405 or submit the required application and authorization. The $405 consists of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. No summons will issue yet, and the action will be dismissed if Williams does not comply within the deadline.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied payment-free status for any appeal, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order addresses filing requirements and does not decide the merits of Williams’s underlying claims.
The detailed version
- In Re: Sheldon Williams · No. 1:25-cv-04537
- Laura Swain
- June 10, 2025
Background
Sheldon Williams filed this civil action without a lawyer. The order states that he is currently incarcerated at the Rikers Island–West Facility Annex. Williams submitted the complaint without paying the filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.
Required filing steps
The court explained that a prisoner bringing a civil action must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. If the court grants the application, the $350 filing fee must still be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and provide certified 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 and effect
The court ordered Williams to pay the $405 or submit the required application and prisoner authorization within 30 days of the order’s date. The documents must identify docket number 1:25-CV-4537 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time. If Williams 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.
The court certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. This order concerns payment and filing requirements; it does not address the merits of the claims in the complaint.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.