Hines v. State of Minnesota

Background

Frederick Dewayne Hines, who was incarcerated and represented himself, filed a civil-rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He applied to proceed without paying the filing fee. A magistrate judge denied that application under the Prison Litigation Reform Act because Hines had accumulated three qualifying prior dismissals, commonly called “three strikes.” The district court affirmed that decision, finding that the exception for a prisoner facing imminent danger did not apply.

Hines appealed that decision and sought permission to proceed without paying the appellate filing fee. The court denied that request, finding that the appeal was not taken in good faith because it was an improper appeal before a final decision. The court warned Hines that the action would be dismissed without prejudice for failure to prosecute if he did not pay the $402 filing fee by September 30, 2023. Hines later moved for a certificate of appealability.

Ruling

The court dismissed Hines’s action without prejudice for failure to prosecute under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b), because he had not paid the filing fee by the deadline. The court separately denied Hines’s motion for a certificate of appealability as moot.

The court explained that its dismissal ended the case and therefore was a final decision. Because appeals from final decisions generally do not require a certificate of appealability, Hines could appeal the dismissal to the Eighth Circuit without obtaining that certificate. The order did not decide whether Hines’s civil-rights claims had merit. The court also stated that a separate complaint Hines referenced belonged to another action and was not addressed in this order.