Sun v. New York City Police Department
- Laura Swain
- 1:18-cv-11002
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Sun v. New York City Police Department, Judge Swain required proper filings, rejected email requests, and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees.
Yi Sun, whose email requests were not accepted for judicial action and whose permission to appeal without paying filing fees was denied; the clerks handling the two cases were also directed to file the order.
What happened
Sun v. New York City Police Department and Sun v. Saslovsky involved Yi Sun’s requests about notices of appeal, alleged payments, payment receipts, and courthouse video. The order did not decide the underlying claims in either case.
The court directed Sun to file future communications rather than email them. It said the documents submitted to the Second Circuit included copies of payment instruments but not the originals, and that no payment instruments were found in the Southern District of New York drop box. The court said Sun could submit documentation showing that the instruments had been negotiated for further review.
Judge Swain certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied Sun permission to appeal without paying filing fees. The clerk was directed to place the order in both cases and provide Sun a copy.
The detailed version
- Sun v. New York City Police Department · No. 1:18-cv-11002
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 30, 2020
Background
On October 23, 2020, the court received two emails from Yi Sun. The emails appeared to supplement Sun’s earlier letter requesting confirmation that the court had received notices of appeal and alleged payments. Sun asked to show the court the original payment receipts and to review video surveillance of activity in the courthouse lobby.
The order stated that documents Sun filed with the Second Circuit on September 28, 2020, included copies of payment instruments. Two instruments were payable to the Clerk of the Second Circuit, and one was payable jointly to the Clerk of the Second Circuit and the Clerk of the Southern District of New York. The documents did not include original payment instruments. The court also stated that it had not found payment instruments among the materials Sun deposited in the Southern District of New York drop box on October 3, 2020.
Court’s Directives
The court instructed Sun to file, rather than email, any further communications. It cited Rule (A)(1)(a)(i) of the court’s Individual Practices, which requires letters to be filed through the Electronic Case Files system. The court stated that it would not accept communications or requests for judicial action by email.
The court said Sun could contact the Post Office about tracing or replacing the money orders and could ask the bank whether the check had been cashed or could be replaced. If Sun obtained documentation showing that the payment instruments had been negotiated, Sun could submit it to the Clerk of Court for the Southern District of New York for further review.
Disposition
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees. The clerk was directed to file the order in both captioned matters, and chambers was directed to provide Sun with a copy. The order addressed filing procedures and appeal status; it did not reach the merits of the underlying claims. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.