Bob v. DHS
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:19-cv-10422
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Bob v. DHS, Judge McMahon ordered the petitioner to pay the filing fee or submit an application to proceed without prepayment.
Nata S. Bob had to pay the $5 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days. DHS/ICE/INS. Thomas Decker, Director of Removal and Detention(s), was not required to answer at this stage.
What happened
In Nata S. Bob v. DHS/ICE/INS. Thomas Decker, Director of Removal and Detention(s), the petitioner filed a petition asking for a court order concerning detention or removal.
The petitioner was representing themself but filed neither the required $5 filing fee nor an application to proceed without prepaying court fees. The court stated that no response from the respondents was required at this stage.
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the petitioner to pay the fee or submit a signed fee-waiver application within 30 days. She warned that the case will be dismissed if the petitioner does not comply and denied fee-waiver status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Bob v. DHS · No. 1:19-cv-10422
- Colleen McMahon
- Nov. 12, 2019
Background
Nata S. Bob filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus and was proceeding without a lawyer. The petition was submitted without the required $5 filing fee and without an application asking to proceed without prepaying court fees.
Order
The court directed the petitioner, within 30 days, either to pay the $5 filing fee or to complete and submit the attached application to proceed without prepayment of fees. The application was to identify docket number 19-CV-10422 (CM). The court explained that approval of the application would allow the petitioner to proceed without paying the fee in advance.
The Clerk of Court was directed to assign the matter to Judge McMahon's docket, mail the order to the petitioner, and record service on the docket. No answer from the respondents was required at that time. The court stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures if the petitioner complied, but that the action would be dismissed if the petitioner did not comply within the allowed period.
Appeal and Scope of Ruling
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. This order addressed filing-fee and fee-waiver requirements; it did not decide the substance of the petition.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.