Williams v. United States of America

Background

Steven Talbert Williams brought the action while representing himself. His complaint, filed on December 13, 2019, was 677 pages long, including exhibits. The opinion states that, each day after filing, Williams delivered several hundred additional pages to the court’s Pro Se Intake Unit. Some submissions had been docketed, but the Clerk of Court had not been able to scan and docket all of them because of their volume.

Court’s directives

The court determined that requiring the Clerk’s Office to scan and docket the additional submissions at that time would be an undue burden. It directed the Clerk to maintain in the court file the documents Williams had submitted but that had not been scanned and docketed. The Clerk was not required to scan and docket those documents unless the court later directed it to do so.

The court also directed Williams to limit future filings in this action to ten pages unless he first obtained permission to exceed that limit. The Clerk was not required to scan and docket documents exceeding the limit. Instead, the Clerk was directed to note receipt of those documents, note on the docket that the ten-page limit had been exceeded, and place the documents in the court file. The court further directed the Clerk to note service on the docket.

Appeal status and disposition

Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. This order addressed filing administration and appeal status; it did not decide the underlying claims described in the complaint.