Baez v. Demuers
- Ronnie Abrams
- 1:25-cv-04879
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Baez v. Demuers, Judge Swain ordered the unrepresented petitioner to pay the $5 filing fee or submit a fee-waiver application within 30 days.
Juan Zubiaga Baez, who must either pay the $5 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days, or the action will be dismissed. Demuers was not required to answer at this stage.
What happened
In Baez v. Demuers, Juan Zubiaga Baez filed a petition asking for habeas relief, but did not pay the $5 filing fee or submit an application to proceed without paying it. The court identified Baez as representing himself.
The court ordered Baez, within 30 days of June 23, 2025, to either pay the fee or submit a signed application asking to proceed without prepaying court fees. No response from Demuers was required at that time. If Baez did not comply, the action would be dismissed.
Judge Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not decide the substance of Baez’s habeas petition.
The detailed version
- Baez v. Demuers · No. 1:25-cv-04879
- Ronnie Abrams
- June 23, 2025
Background
Juan Zubiaga Baez, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. A habeas petition asks a court to provide relief from allegedly unlawful custody or detention, although this order does not describe the substance of Baez’s claims. Baez submitted the petition without paying the required $5 filing fee and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying court fees.
Fee Requirement
The court explained that a habeas petitioner must either pay the $5 filing fee or submit a signed application requesting permission to proceed without prepayment under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The court gave Baez 30 days from the date of the order to do one of those things. If he submits the application, it must identify docket number 25-CV-4879 (LTS). If the court grants the application, Baez may proceed without prepaying the filing fee.
Order and Effect
The court stated that no answer from Demuers was required at that time. If Baez complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. This order did not reach the merits of Baez’s habeas petition.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.