Lee v. Orange County Jail

Background

Hibah T. Lee filed a civil action while being held at the Orange County Jail and proceeded without a lawyer. The complaint was submitted without the required fees, a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees, or a prisoner authorization.

Fees and required forms

The order explained that a prisoner starting a civil action must either pay $400 or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. The $400 consists of a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee. If permission to proceed without prepaying fees is granted, the $350 filing fee must be collected in installments from the prison trust account. The prisoner authorization would allow those deductions and require the facility to send certified copies of the prison trust account statements for the prior six months. The $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted that status.

Court’s order

The court ordered Lee, within 30 days, to either pay the $400 in fees or submit the completed application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 1:20-CV-5021 (CM). The Clerk of Court was directed to mail the order to Lee and record service on the docket. No summons would issue at that time. The order stated that the action would be processed if Lee complied and would be dismissed if Lee did not comply within the allowed time.

Judge Colleen McMahon also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not address the merits of Lee’s underlying claims. It also cautioned about the consequences of certain dismissals under the prisoner “three strikes” rule.