Robinson v. Doe
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-05588
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Robinson v. Doe, Judge Swain ordered Israel Robinson to pay filing fees or submit prisoner IFP paperwork within 30 days.
Israel Robinson, who must either pay the required fees or submit the required prisoner IFP paperwork within 30 days; Doe was not required to answer yet.
What happened
In Robinson v. Doe, Israel Robinson, who is incarcerated and proceeding without a lawyer, filed a complaint without paying the required fees or submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying them.
Judge Swain ordered Robinson to either pay $405 or submit a signed application and prisoner authorization within 30 days. The authorization would allow filing-fee payments to be deducted from his account in installments if the court grants his application.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain did not require Doe to answer yet. She stated that the case would be processed if Robinson complies, but that the action will be dismissed if he does not; she also denied fee-free status for an appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Robinson v. Doe · No. 1:25-cv-05588
- Laura Swain
- July 9, 2025
Background
Israel Robinson filed this civil action without paying the required fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization. The opinion states that Robinson is incarcerated at West Facility Annex on Rikers Island and is representing himself.
Order
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Robinson, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay $405 in fees, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee, or submit the attached signed application to proceed in forma pauperis, meaning without prepaying fees, together with a prisoner authorization. The authorization directs the correctional facility to deduct the $350 filing fee from Robinson's account in installments and to provide certified copies of his account statements for the previous six months. The $55 administrative fee does not apply if the court grants prisoner IFP status.
Effect of the Order
No answer from Doe was required at that time. The court stated that, if Robinson 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 that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The opinion cautioned that certain dismissals of prisoner cases can count as strikes under federal law, but it did not dismiss this action in the order itself.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.