Amen El v. Roy
- Donovan Frank
- 0:17-cv-02790
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Amen El v. Roy, Judge Frank granted appeal fee-waiver status, denied reconsideration, and ordered the petitioner’s name changed in court records.
Pharaoh El-Forever Left-i Amen El, whose application to appeal without paying court fees was granted, whose reconsideration request was denied, and whose name was ordered changed in the court’s records.
What happened
Amen El v. Roy concerns Pharaoh El-Forever Left-i Amen El’s request to appeal after the court denied his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, meaning a petition challenging the legality of his custody or detention. He asked to appeal without paying court fees and also asked to file a reconsideration motion.
The court found that Amen El qualified financially to appeal without paying the fees. It also found that his appeal was not frivolous, even though the court had declined to issue a certificate allowing the appeal and continued to believe the petition had been properly denied.
Judge Donovan Frank granted the request to proceed without paying the appeal fees, denied the reconsideration request, and directed the clerk to change the petitioner’s name to Pharaoh El-Forever Left-i Amen El.
The detailed version
- Amen El v. Roy · No. 0:17-cv-02790
- Donovan Frank
- Oct. 4, 2018
Background
Pharaoh El-Forever Left-i Amen El, formerly also identified in the caption as Pharaoh El-Forever Amen El and DeSean Lamont Thomas, had filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The court had denied that petition. He then sought to appeal and applied to proceed in forma pauperis, which means without paying the required court fees because of limited financial resources. He also submitted a self-styled letter or motion asking for reconsideration.
Court’s analysis
The court concluded that Amen El qualified financially for in forma pauperis status. It explained that the standard for proceeding without paying fees is lower than the standard for receiving a certificate of appealability. Although the court had declined to issue a certificate of appealability and continued to believe that the habeas petition was properly denied, it found that the appeal was not frivolous under the applicable Supreme Court standard.
Rulings
The court granted Amen El’s application to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal. It denied his letter or motion for reconsideration. The court also directed the clerk’s office to change the petitioner’s name to Pharaoh El-Forever Left-i Amen El, consistent with an amended name-change order issued by Chisago County Judge Suzanne Bollman.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.