Espinal v. Rich
- Katherine Failla
- 1:19-cv-10634
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Espinal v. Rich, Judge McMahon ordered pro se petitioner Espinal to pay the $5 fee or submit an IFP application within 30 days.
Pedro Alejandro Espinal must either pay the $5 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days; otherwise, the action will be dismissed. Rich was not required to answer at this time.
What happened
Espinal v. Rich is a petition by Pedro Alejandro Espinal challenging his custody. He filed it without paying the required filing fee and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
The court gave Espinal 30 days to pay the $5 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. If he did not comply, the action would be dismissed. The court did not require the respondent to answer at that time.
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon issued the order directing these next steps. She also ruled that any appeal would not qualify for proceeding without prepaying fees because it would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Espinal v. Rich · No. 1:19-cv-10634
- Katherine Failla
- Nov. 19, 2019
Background
Pedro Alejandro Espinal, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus against Rich, identified in the caption as the Superintendent of Elmira Correctional Facility. The petition was filed without the $5 filing fee and without an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without prepaying court fees.
Order
The court ordered Espinal, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $5 filing fee or complete and submit the attached signed IFP application. If he submitted the application, it had to identify docket number 19-CV-10634 (CM). The court explained that, if the IFP application were granted, Espinal could proceed without prepaying fees.
The order stated that no answer was required from the respondent at that time. It directed the Clerk of Court to assign the matter to the judge's docket, mail the order to Espinal, and record service on the docket. If Espinal complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures; if he did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Disposition
Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon directed payment of the filing fee or submission of an IFP application. The order did not decide the merits of Espinal's habeas petition. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.