Roybal v. State of Minnesota
- Katherine Menendez
- 0:21-cv-02026
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Roybal v. Schnell, Judge Menendez granted Roybal permission to appeal without paying the filing fee because his appeal was not frivolous.
Kristopher Lee Roybal’s request to appeal without paying the filing fee was granted, but his appeal still requires a certificate of appealability from the Court of Appeals.
What happened
In Roybal v. Schnell, Kristopher Lee Roybal asked to appeal a judgment denying his habeas petition without paying the appellate filing fee. The court noted that Roybal is incarcerated and has no assets to pay the fee.
The court found that Roybal qualified financially for this status and that his appeal was not frivolous, even though the court believed his habeas petition had been properly denied and had previously refused him a certificate allowing an appeal.
Judge Katherine Menendez granted Roybal’s application to proceed without paying the filing fee on appeal. The court also stated that the appeal cannot proceed unless the Court of Appeals grants him a certificate of appealability.
The detailed version
- Roybal v. State of Minnesota · No. 0:21-cv-02026
- Katherine Menendez
- Feb. 25, 2024
Background
Kristopher Lee Roybal applied to proceed without paying the filing fee for his appeal. He sought to appeal a judgment denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, which is a court challenge to the legality of a person’s custody. The opinion does not describe the claims in that petition.
Legal standard
Under federal law, a person may proceed without paying the filing fee if he cannot afford it. Even when a person is financially eligible, the court must deny that status if the appeal is not taken in good faith. An appeal is not taken in good faith when its claims are frivolous, meaning they have no arguable basis in law or fact.
Court’s reasoning
The court found that Roybal’s application showed he was incarcerated and had no assets available to pay the filing fee and appeal costs. The court also found that his appeal was not frivolous under the applicable Supreme Court standard. The court emphasized that this finding did not change its view that Roybal’s habeas petition had been properly denied. The court had previously declined to grant Roybal a certificate of appealability, a document required for a habeas appeal to proceed.
Disposition
Judge Katherine Menendez granted Roybal’s application to proceed without paying the filing fee on appeal. The court stated that the appeal will not proceed unless the Court of Appeals grants Roybal a certificate of appealability.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.