Lee v. Doe

Background

Hibah Lee filed a civil action against John Doe, Orange County Jail; John Doe, Orange County Facility (Administration); Anthony M. Mele, identified as Corrections Administrator; and Sergeant Kiszka #134. The opinion states that Lee was incarcerated in the Orange County Jail and was proceeding without a lawyer.

Filing-fee requirement

A prisoner filing a civil action must either pay the required fees or apply to proceed without prepaying them. The order states that the total fees were $400: a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee. If the court grants a prisoner’s application to proceed without prepaying fees, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner must also submit a signed application and authorization for withdrawals, along with certified account statements for the preceding six months.

Lee submitted the complaint with a prisoner authorization but did not submit a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees.

Ruling and directives

The court ordered Lee to do one of two things within 30 days of August 7, 2020: pay the $400 in fees or submit the attached completed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The application was to include docket number 20-CV-6176 (CM).

The Clerk of Court was directed to mail Lee a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that, if Lee complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if Lee did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.

The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order additionally warned that a later dismissal for being frivolous, malicious, or failing to state a claim could count as a qualifying “strike” under the prisoner-litigation statute, affecting a prisoner’s ability to proceed without prepaying fees in future federal civil actions.