Harris v. New York Post
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-06682
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Harris v. New York Post, Judge Swain ordered Tony Harris to pay filing fees or submit prisoner authorization within 30 days.
Tony Harris, who must either pay the required fees or submit the prisoner authorization within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
Harris v. New York Post concerns Tony Harris's civil action, which he filed without a lawyer while incarcerated. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying fees but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court gave Harris 30 days to either pay $405 in fees or complete and submit the authorization. The authorization would permit installment deductions of the $350 filing fee from his prison account. No summons will issue yet, and the case will proceed through the Clerk's Office only if he complies; otherwise, the action will be dismissed.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor 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 detailed version
- Harris v. New York Post · No. 1:25-cv-06682
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 16, 2025
Background
Tony Harris filed this civil action against New York Post and other defendants while incarcerated at EMTC Rikers Island. The opinion states that Harris is proceeding without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying court fees, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Court’s Requirements
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees by submitting both a signed application and a prisoner authorization. If permission to proceed without prepaying fees is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the $350 filing fee to be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the facility to provide certified account statements for the previous six months and make the required deductions.
The court ordered Harris, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $405 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization. The court instructed him to label the authorization with docket number 25-CV-6681 (LTS), although the action’s docket number shown in the order is 25cv6682 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time. If Harris 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.
Appeal and Disposition
This order addresses filing requirements and does not decide the claims against the defendants. The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order was signed by Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.