Blanding v. Warden John/Jane Doe
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-05588
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Blanding v. Warden, Judge McMahon required Johnny Blanding to pay a $5 fee or submit an IFP application within 30 days.
Johnny Blanding, the self-represented petitioner, must either pay the $5 filing fee or submit an IFP application within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Blanding v. Warden, Johnny Blanding filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus without paying the filing fee or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
The court ordered Blanding, within 30 days, to pay the $5 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. No response from the Warden was required at that time, but the court stated that the action would be dismissed if Blanding did not comply.
Judge Colleen McMahon also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, ruling that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the habeas petition’s underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Blanding v. Warden John/Jane Doe · No. 1:20-cv-05588
- Colleen McMahon
- July 21, 2020
Background
Johnny Blanding, representing himself, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims in the petition. Blanding submitted neither the required $5 filing fee nor an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without prepaying court fees.
Order
The court gave Blanding 30 days from the date of the order to either pay the $5 filing fee or complete and submit a signed IFP application. If the court grants the IFP application, the filing fee will be waived. The application was to identify docket number 20-CV-5588 (CM).
The Clerk of Court was directed to mail the order to Blanding and record service on the docket. The court stated that no answer from the Warden was required at that time. If Blanding complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he failed to comply within the allotted time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal and effect
Judge Colleen McMahon certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. This order addressed filing requirements and did not decide the merits of Blanding’s habeas petition.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.