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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled June 24, 2020

Burroughs v. Lilley

Judge
Andrew Carter
Docket
1:20-cv-04814
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
2
HabeasPro SeCivil Procedure
In one sentence

In Burroughs v. Lilley, Judge McMahon ordered Petitioner to pay the filing fee or submit an IFP application within 30 days.

Who this affects

Theopholis Burroughs, who must either pay the $5 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days; otherwise, the action will be dismissed.

What happened

Burroughs v. Lilley concerns Theopholis Burroughs’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The opinion says Burroughs was representing himself and had not paid the filing fee or submitted an application to proceed without paying it in advance.

The court gave Burroughs 30 days to pay the $5 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. If the application is granted, Burroughs may proceed without paying the fee in advance. The court said no response from the respondent was required at that time.

The order states that the action will be dismissed if Burroughs does not comply within the deadline. Judge Colleen McMahon also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Burroughs v. Lilley · No. 1:20-cv-04814
Judge
Andrew Carter
Date
June 24, 2020

Background

Theopholis Burroughs filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus while proceeding without a lawyer. The petition was submitted without the required $5 filing fee and without an application asking to proceed without prepaying court fees.

Order

The court ordered Burroughs, within 30 days, to do one of two things: pay the $5 filing fee or complete and submit the attached application to proceed without prepaying fees. The application had to be signed and labeled with docket number 20-CV-4814 (CM). The court explained that, if it grants the application, Burroughs may proceed without paying the fee in advance.

The Clerk of Court was directed to mail the order to Burroughs and record service on the docket. The court stated that the respondent did not have to file an answer at that time. If Burroughs complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If Burroughs failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.

Appeal ruling

Judge Colleen McMahon certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. This order did not decide the substance of the habeas petition.

The authoritative version

Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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