Casimir Griffin Cape Verdean King v. Orange County Jail Staff Entirely
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-06492
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Casimir Griffin Cape Verdean King of Kings v. Orange County Jail Staff Entirely, Judge Swain ordered fee payment or prisoner authorization within 30 days.
The detained plaintiff, Casimir Griffin Cape Verdean King of Kings, must either pay the stated fees or submit a prisoner authorization for the action to proceed.
What happened
Casimir Griffin Cape Verdean King of Kings v. Orange County Jail Staff Entirely concerns a civil action brought by a detained person without a lawyer. The plaintiff submitted an application to proceed without paying fees upfront but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court ordered the plaintiff, within 30 days, either to pay the stated $402.00 in fees or submit the completed authorization. The authorization would allow installment withdrawals from the plaintiff’s account and provide the court with account statements. No summons will issue yet, and the action will be dismissed if the plaintiff does not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees on appeal, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not address the merits of the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Casimir Griffin Cape Verdean King v. Orange County Jail Staff Entirely · No. 1:25-cv-06492
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 14, 2025
Background
The plaintiff, who is detained at the Orange County Jail, filed the action without a lawyer. The plaintiff submitted an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning to proceed without paying the filing fees upfront, but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Court’s Order
The court explained that a prisoner generally must either pay filing fees or submit an IFP application and prisoner authorization. If IFP status is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the $350.00 filing fee to be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the detention facility to deduct those payments and send the court certified account statements covering the previous six months.
The court ordered the plaintiff to comply within 30 days of the order by either paying $402.00 in fees or completing and submitting the attached prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 25-CV-6492 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time. If the plaintiff does not comply within the allowed period, the action will be dismissed. The court also certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal.
What the Order Did Not Decide
The order did not decide whether the plaintiff’s underlying claims against Orange County Jail Staff Entirely have legal merit. It addressed only the filing-fee and authorization requirements and the appeal-related IFP certification.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.