Andradez v. Orange County Sheriff's Office

Background

Andrew Jay Andradez filed a civil action against the Orange County Sheriff’s Office while detained at the Orange County Jail. He filed the complaint without paying the required fees and without completing an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without prepaying the fees, or a prisoner authorization.

Court’s Order

The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $400 in fees—$350 for filing and $50 for administration—or submit a signed IFP application and prisoner authorization. If IFP status is granted, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner’s account under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted IFP status.

The court ordered Andradez, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $400 or submit the attached IFP application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 20-CV-2050 (CM). The Clerk of Court was directed to mail him a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. If Andradez 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 Additional Warning

The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and therefore denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The court also cautioned that a later dismissal of a prisoner’s action as frivolous, malicious, or failing to state a claim could count as a “strike” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), and that three strikes generally prevent a prisoner from filing future actions IFP unless the prisoner faces imminent danger of serious physical injury.

Judge

Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon signed the order on March 10, 2020. The opinion did not decide the underlying claims against the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.