Ware v. Department of Corrections

Background

Walter Ware, who was incarcerated at the Vernon C. Bain Center, brought this civil action without a lawyer. The complaint had originally been filed with 49 other detainees. A magistrate judge severed the claims and directed the Clerk of Court to open separate cases, including this one.

Ware filed the complaint without paying the filing fees and without completing an application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization. Under the statutes cited by the court, a prisoner must either pay $400 in fees or submit the required forms. If the court grants the application to proceed without prepaying fees, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner's account. The authorization also permits the facility to make those deductions and requires certified account statements for the prior six months.

Court's action

The court ordered Ware, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $400 in fees or submit the attached application and prisoner authorization. The documents were to identify docket number 20-CV-9499 (CM). The court directed the Clerk to mail Ware a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk's procedures if Ware complied and would be dismissed if he did not comply within the permitted time.

Judge Colleen McMahon also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying the appeal fees. The order did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants. It additionally cautioned that a later dismissal for frivolousness or failure to state a claim could count as a qualifying strike under the prisoner filing statute.