Rojas v. State of New York

Background

Richard Rojas, who was incarcerated on Rikers Island, brought this civil action without a lawyer. He applied to proceed without prepaying the filing fees, a status commonly called permission to proceed without prepayment of fees. He did not, however, submit the required prisoner authorization.

Court’s Requirements

The court explained that a prisoner starting a civil action must either pay $400 in fees—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee—or submit the required documents to request permission to proceed without prepayment. If that request is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the $350 filing fee to be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and to send the court certified account statements covering the prior six months. The $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepayment.

Ruling and Next Steps

Judge Colleen McMahon ordered Rojas, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $400 in fees or to complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 20-CV-2137 (CM). The Clerk was directed to mail him a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that, if Rojas complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s procedures; if he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.

The court also certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The court separately cautioned that a later dismissal for frivolousness or failure to state a claim could count as a “strike” under the prisoner-litigation statute, potentially limiting a prisoner’s ability to proceed without prepaying fees after three strikes, unless the prisoner faced imminent danger of serious physical injury.