Renee Williams v. The Brooklyn Defenders, et al.
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-07648
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Renee Williams v. The Brooklyn Defenders, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice after Williams failed to pay fees or submit required prisoner-status paperwork.
Renee Williams, whose complaint was dismissed without prejudice; the opinion does not describe the defendants beyond the case caption.
What happened
In Renee Williams v. The Brooklyn Defenders, the court had ordered Renee Williams to submit a completed prisoner authorization, pay the required $405 in filing fees, or declare that she was not a prisoner under the relevant law.
Williams did none of those things within the required thirty days. The court noted that documents she later submitted did not address the filing fees.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice, entered judgment, and denied fee-waiver status for any appeal after certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Renee Williams v. The Brooklyn Defenders, et al. · No. 1:25-cv-07648
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 20, 2025
Background
By an order dated September 17, 2025, the court directed Renee Williams, within thirty days, to submit a completed prisoner authorization or pay the $405 in fees required to file a civil action. The court also stated that if Williams was not a prisoner under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(h), she could submit a declaration saying so. The order warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal.
Williams did not submit a prisoner authorization, pay the fees, or submit a declaration about whether she was a prisoner. The court noted that additional documents Williams filed did not address the filing fees.
Ruling
The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. It also entered judgment. The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for purposes of an appeal.
Effect of the Ruling
The dismissal was without prejudice, so the order did not bar refiling based on the dismissal itself. The opinion does not decide the underlying claims against The Brooklyn Defenders or the other defendants.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.