Sweeting v. Warden
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-08316
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Brett Sweeting v. Warden, Chief Judge Swain ordered Sweeting to pay the fee or submit a fee-waiver application within 30 days.
Brett Sweeting, who filed the petition without a lawyer, must either pay the filing fee or submit the required application within 30 days for the action to continue; the Warden was not required to answer at this stage.
What happened
In Brett Sweeting v. Warden, FCI Otisville, Brett Sweeting filed a petition asking for release or other relief through a court process for challenging custody. He was representing himself and did not submit the $5 filing fee or an application to proceed without paying it upfront.
The court gave Sweeting 30 days from October 17, 2025, to either pay the $5 fee or submit a signed application explaining why he could not pay. No response from the Warden was required at that time. The court said the case would be processed if Sweeting complied, but the action would be dismissed if he did not.
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 paying fees. The order did not decide the substance of Sweeting’s custody challenge.
The detailed version
- Sweeting v. Warden · No. 1:25-cv-08316
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 17, 2025
Background
Brett Sweeting, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, a court request challenging the lawfulness or conditions of custody. The opinion states that Sweeting submitted the petition without paying the $5 filing fee and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees or costs.
Order
The court directed Sweeting, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay the $5 filing fee, or complete and submit the attached application to proceed without prepaying fees or costs. The court explained that, if it granted the application, Sweeting could proceed without paying the fee in advance. The application was required to include the case’s docket number, 25-cv-8316 (LTS).
The court stated that no answer from the Warden was required at that time. If Sweeting complied with the order, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Disposition
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Sweeting to pay the filing fee or submit the fee-waiver application. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not resolve the underlying habeas petition.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.