Linares v. Department of Corrections

Background

Timothy Linares brought this civil action while incarcerated and proceeding without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without paying the required filing fees and without a completed application to proceed without prepayment of fees or a prisoner authorization.

The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $400 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepayment. If that request is granted, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner's account. The prisoner authorization permits the facility to make those deductions and requires certified copies of the prisoner's account statements for the preceding six months.

Order

The court directed Linares, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay the $400 in fees, or submit the attached application and prisoner authorization. The documents had to identify docket number 20-CV-9497 (CM).

The Clerk of Court was directed to mail Linares a copy of the order and note service on the docket. No summons would issue at that time. The court stated that if Linares failed to comply within the allowed period, the action would be dismissed without prejudice.

The court 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 noted that a dismissal for frivolousness or failure to state a claim could count as a statutory strike under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), but this order did not make such a dismissal.