Moultrie v. N.Y.C. Department of Correction Medical Staff
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-02853
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Moultrie v. N.Y.C. Department, Judge McMahon ordered a prisoner to pay fees or submit a completed authorization before the case could proceed.
Mukadien Moultrie, a detained prisoner representing himself, was required to pay the fees or submit a completed prisoner authorization within 30 days for the case to proceed.
What happened
Moultrie v. N.Y.C. Department of Correction Medical Staff was filed by Mukadien Moultrie, who was detained at the North Infirmary Command on Rikers Island and was representing himself. He submitted an application to proceed without paying fees upfront and a prisoner authorization, but the authorization was blank.
The court gave Moultrie 30 days to either pay $400 in fees or complete and submit the prisoner authorization. The authorization would allow $350 in filing fees to be deducted from his prison account in installments and would provide the court with certified account statements for the prior six months.
Judge Colleen McMahon directed the Clerk of Court to mail Moultrie the order and record service. No summons would issue at that time; the court said it would process the case if Moultrie complied and would dismiss the action if he did not. The court also denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Moultrie v. N.Y.C. Department of Correction Medical Staff · No. 1:20-cv-02853
- Colleen McMahon
- Apr. 9, 2020
Background
Mukadien Moultrie brought this civil action while detained at the North Infirmary Command on Rikers Island and proceeding without a lawyer. To start a civil action, a prisoner must either pay $400 in fees or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. A prisoner who receives that permission must still pay the $350 filing fee through installments deducted from the prison trust account.
Moultrie submitted an application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. The authorization was blank. The authorization is required to direct the correctional facility to deduct the filing fee in installments and to send the court certified copies of the prisoner’s account statements for the previous six months.
Court’s Order
The court ordered Moultrie, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $400 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 20-CV-2853 (CM). The court did not issue a summons at that time. It stated that, if Moultrie complied, the Clerk’s Office would process the case under its procedures, and that, if he did not comply within the permitted time, the court would dismiss the action.
The Clerk of Court was directed to mail Moultrie a copy of the order and note service on the docket. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The order addressed filing requirements and did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.