Lewis v. Newsom
- Martinez-Olguin
- 3:23-cv-04394
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Lewis v. Newsom, Judge Martinez-Olguin ordered Lewis to submit a new fee-waiver application within 28 days or face dismissal without prejudice.
Daronta T. Lewis and the continuation of his civil-rights action; the order required him to submit a new application before the court would assess his eligibility to proceed without prepaying fees.
What happened
In Lewis v. Newsom, Daronta T. Lewis filed a civil-rights complaint and an application to proceed without paying the filing fee while he was incarcerated. He later notified the court that he had changed his address to a non-prison address, indicating that he had been released.
Because Lewis was no longer incarcerated, the court said he needed to submit a new application under the rules for people who are not prisoners. If the court approves that application, it will screen his complaint; if it does not, Lewis must pay the full filing fee or the case will be dismissed.
Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin ordered Lewis to file the new application and required documents within 28 days. The court denied his earlier prisoner application as moot and stated that failing to file the new application would result in dismissal of the action without prejudice.
The detailed version
- Lewis v. Newsom · No. 3:23-cv-04394
- Martinez-Olguin
- Jan. 2, 2024
Background
Daronta T. Lewis began the action by filing a civil-rights complaint and an application to proceed without prepaying the filing fee. At that time, he filed a prisoner application. Lewis later filed a notice showing that his address had changed to a non-prison address, and the court stated that it therefore seemed he had been released from custody.
Court’s reasoning
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915, a person who cannot afford court fees may ask to proceed without paying them in advance. Prisoners who receive that status generally remain responsible for the full filing fee through an installment plan. The court explained that a prisoner who is released while the case is pending is not required to pay the full filing fee if the court grants the person permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
Because Lewis was no longer incarcerated, the court directed him to apply under the general, non-prisoner provisions of § 1915(a)(1). If the court grants that application, it will review the complaint under § 1915(e)(2) for issues such as frivolous claims, failure to state a claim, or defendants who are legally immune. If the court determines that Lewis does not qualify, he will have to pay the full filing fee or the action will be dismissed.
Order
The court ordered Lewis to file a new application to proceed without prepaying fees, answer all questions, and provide any required documents within 28 days of the order. It stated that failing to do so would result in dismissal of the action without prejudice. The court denied Lewis’s earlier prisoner application as moot, directed the clerk to send him a blank non-prisoner application, and terminated Docket No. 2. Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.