Quito v. Decker
- Alison Nathan
- 1:19-cv-10662
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Quito v. Decker, Chief Judge McMahon ordered Sergio Quito to pay the filing fee or submit an application to proceed without prepayment.
Sergio Quito must either pay the $5 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days, or the action will be dismissed.
What happened
Quito v. Decker concerns Sergio Quito’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. He filed the petition without paying the required filing fee or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees, and he was representing himself.
The court gave Quito 30 days to pay the $5 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment. The court said the case would be processed if he complied, but the action would be dismissed if he did not.
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the habeas petition’s underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Quito v. Decker · No. 1:19-cv-10662
- Alison Nathan
- Nov. 22, 2019
Background
Sergio Quito, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus against Thomas Decker. The opinion states that Quito submitted the petition without paying the required $5 filing fee and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court ordered Quito, within 30 days, to do one of two things: pay the $5 filing fee or complete and submit the attached application to proceed without prepayment of fees. The court stated that, if it grants the application, Quito may proceed without paying the fee in advance. Any application was to identify docket number 19-CV-10662 (CM).
The Clerk of Court was directed to assign the matter to the judge’s docket, mail the order to Quito, and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. If Quito complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal and Effect
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon certified under federal law that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. This order addressed filing requirements and did not decide the merits of Quito’s habeas petition.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.