Hall v. Dept. of Corrections

Background

Michael A. Hall, who was detained at the Metropolitan Detention Complex, brought the action without a lawyer. To proceed with a federal civil action, a prisoner must either pay the required fees or request permission to proceed without prepaying them. A prisoner requesting that permission must submit both a signed application and a prisoner authorization.

Hall submitted the application but not the prisoner authorization. The authorization would direct the detention facility to deduct the $350 filing fee from his account in installments and send the court certified copies of his account statements for the previous six months. The $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.

Order

The court ordered Hall, within 30 days of the order’s date, to either pay $400 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization. The court instructed that any authorization should include docket number 20-CV-5695 (CM). The Clerk of Court was directed to mail Hall a copy of the order and record service on the docket.

The court stated that it would dismiss the action if Hall failed to comply within the allowed time. It also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any 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 Hall’s underlying claims. It additionally cautioned that certain future dismissals could count as “strikes” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).