King v. White

Background

Sharif King, who was incarcerated at Great Meadow Correctional Facility and was representing himself, filed an action against Correction Officer White and other defendants. He submitted a prisoner authorization, but his application to proceed without prepaying court fees was incomplete because it was missing the signature page.

Order

The court ordered King, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay $400 in required fees, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee, or submit a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The court instructed him to include the prisoner authorization, which permits monthly installments of the $350 filing fee to be deducted from his prison account and requires certified account statements for the previous six months. The $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted this fee-waiver status.

Effect of the Order

No summons would issue at that time. The Clerk of Court was directed to mail King a copy of the order and record service on the docket. If King complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he did not comply within the 30-day period, the action would be dismissed.

The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The order warned that a later dismissal of a prisoner’s action as frivolous or for failure to state a claim could count as a “strike” under the federal prisoner-litigation statute. After three such strikes, a prisoner generally cannot proceed without prepaying fees unless an exception for imminent danger of serious physical injury applies.

Disposition

This was an administrative and filing-fee order. It did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants. Judge Colleen McMahon directed King to pay the fees or correct his application within 30 days; the order did not state that the action had already been dismissed.