Fleming v. Commissioner of the Department of Correctional and Community…
Rudy Fleming v. Commissioner of the Department of Correctional and Community Supervision, (DOCCS) et al.
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-08322
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Rudy Fleming v. Commissioner, Chief Judge Swain ordered Fleming to pay fees or submit prisoner authorization within 30 days.
Rudy Fleming, who must either pay the required fees or submit a prisoner authorization within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Rudy Fleming v. Commissioner, Rudy Fleming filed a civil case without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying court fees upfront. He submitted the required application but did not submit the separate authorization needed for deductions from his prison account.
The court ordered Fleming, within 30 days, either to pay $405 in fees or submit the attached prisoner authorization. The authorization permits installment deductions of the $350 filing fee and provides the court with recent account statements. No summons will issue yet, and the action will be dismissed if Fleming does not comply.
Chief 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 order was dated October 17, 2025.
The detailed version
- Fleming v. Commissioner of the Department of Correctional and Community… · No. 1:25-cv-08322
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 17, 2025
Background
Rudy Fleming, who the opinion says is incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility, brought this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an in forma pauperis application, but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Under the statutes cited by the court, a prisoner must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepayment. Even when that request is granted, the $350 filing fee must be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and send the court certified account statements for the previous six months.
Order
The court ordered Fleming to do one of two things within 30 days of the order’s date: pay the full $405 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization. If he submits the authorization, it must identify docket number 25-CV 8322-(LTS).
No summons will issue at this time. If Fleming complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed period, the action will be dismissed. The court also noted that a qualifying dismissal of a prisoner’s federal action can count as a “strike” under the prisoner-litigation statute.
Appeal ruling
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith. She therefore denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.