Johnson v. Hamilton County Sheriffs Office
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-01620
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Robert W. Johnson v. Hamilton County Sheriffs Office, Judge Swain dismissed the action without prejudice because Johnson lacked required filing permission.
Robert W. Johnson’s action was dismissed without prejudice; the opinion does not reach the claims against the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office.
What happened
Robert W. Johnson filed this action without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying the filing fee. A prior order barred him from filing new civil actions in this court under that status unless he first obtained permission.
The court dismissed the action without prejudice because Johnson had not sought the required permission before filing. The opinion does not address the claims against the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office.
Judge Swain also ruled that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Johnson permission to proceed without paying the appeal fee. The clerk was directed to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Johnson v. Hamilton County Sheriffs Office · No. 1:25-cv-01620
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 28, 2025
Background
Robert W. Johnson filed a new civil action without a lawyer and requested permission to proceed without paying the filing fee. The court had previously ordered that Johnson could not file any new civil action in this court under that status unless he first obtained permission from the court. The opinion identifies that earlier related proceeding as ECF 1:19-CV-7337, 8, and states that an appeal from the earlier order was dismissed.
Reason for Dismissal
The court found that Johnson had not asked for the required permission before filing this action. It therefore dismissed the action without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. § 1651, based on Johnson’s failure to comply with the earlier court order. The opinion does not decide the underlying claims.
Other Rulings
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to proceed without paying the fee for an appeal. The court also directed the clerk to enter judgment. The order was signed by Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.