Darrell v. State of New York
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-00248
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Darrell v. State of New York, Judge McMahon ordered Rose Darrell to correct the prisoner authorization or pay fees before the case proceeds.
Rose Darrell and the processing of this action; the order requires Darrell to correct the prisoner authorization or pay the specified fees before the case proceeds.
What happened
In Darrell v. State of New York, Rose Darrell, who is incarcerated and representing themself, submitted an application to proceed without paying court fees upfront and a prisoner authorization.
The authorization allowed collection of $465 instead of the required $350 filing fee. The court gave Darrell 30 days to either pay $400 in fees or submit the attached corrected authorization.
Judge McMahon directed the Clerk to mail the order, stated that no summons would issue yet, and said the action would be dismissed if Darrell did not comply. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying fees.
The detailed version
- Darrell v. State of New York · No. 1:20-cv-00248
- Colleen McMahon
- Jan. 22, 2020
Background
Rose Darrell, who is incarcerated at Woodbourne Correctional Facility, brought this action without a lawyer. To proceed in the federal court, a prisoner must either pay $400 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. That request is commonly called an IFP application. A prisoner who receives that permission must still pay the $350 filing fee through installments deducted from the prison account.
Darrell submitted an IFP application and a prisoner authorization. The authorization, however, permitted collection of $465 from the prison account rather than the $350 filing fee required for a prisoner granted IFP status.
Order
The court ordered Darrell, within 30 days of January 22, 2020, to do one of two things: pay the full $400 in fees or complete and submit the attached corrected prisoner authorization. The authorization had to include docket number 20-CV-0248 (CM).
The Clerk was directed to mail Darrell a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. If Darrell complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If Darrell did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Additional Rulings and Effect
Judge Colleen McMahon certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The court also cautioned that a later dismissal of a prisoner action as frivolous or for failure to state a claim could count as a strike under federal law. After three such strikes, a prisoner generally cannot proceed without prepaying fees unless the prisoner faces imminent danger of serious physical injury.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.