Ward v. Piccolo
- Colleen McMahon
- 7:20-cv-01899
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Ward v. Piccolo, Judge McMahon ordered J’min A. Ward to pay the filing fee or submit a fee-waiver application within 30 days.
J’min A. Ward, who is proceeding without a lawyer; the action may be dismissed if he does not pay the $5 filing fee or submit the required application within 30 days.
What happened
In Ward v. Piccolo, J’min A. Ward, representing himself, filed a petition asking the federal court to review his custody. He did not pay the required $5 filing fee or submit an application to proceed without paying fees in advance.
The court gave Ward 30 days to pay the fee or submit a signed fee-waiver application. If he complies, the case will proceed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he does not, the action will be dismissed. The court also said that no response from the respondent was required at that time.
Judge Colleen McMahon directed the Clerk to mail the order to Ward and record service on the docket. She also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Ward v. Piccolo · No. 7:20-cv-01899
- Colleen McMahon
- Mar. 4, 2020
Background
J’min A. Ward, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, a legal procedure for challenging custody, against P. Piccolo, identified in the order as superintendent. Ward did not submit the required $5 filing fee or an application to proceed without paying fees in advance.
Order
The court ordered Ward, within 30 days of March 4, 2020, to either pay the $5 filing fee or complete and submit the attached application to proceed without prepaying fees. If the court grants that application, Ward may proceed without prepaying the filing fee. The application was to include docket number 20-CV-1899 (CM).
The court directed the Clerk of Court to mail Ward a copy of the order and note service on the docket. It stated that no answer was required at that time. If Ward complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
Judge and disposition
Judge COLLEEN McMAHON issued the order directing payment of the filing fee or submission of an application to proceed without prepayment. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide the merits of Ward’s petition.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.