Tucker v. Department of Corrections

Background

Theodore Tucker filed this civil action without paying the filing fees or submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. The order states that Tucker was incarcerated at the Vernon C. Bain Center and was representing himself. His complaint had initially been filed with 49 other detainees, but a magistrate judge had severed the claims and directed the Clerk to open separate cases.

Order

The court directed Tucker, within 30 days, to do one of two things: pay $400 in fees, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee, or submit the attached application and prisoner authorization forms. The authorization would allow the $350 filing fee to be deducted from his prisoner account in installments and would require certified copies of his account statements for the preceding six months. The order explains that the $50 administrative fee does not apply to a prisoner granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.

The court directed the Clerk to mail Tucker a copy of the order and note service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that, if Tucker complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.

Appeal and Prisoner-Strike Warning

Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon 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 also warned that a later dismissal for frivolousness or failure to state a claim could count as a “strike” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), and that a prisoner with three strikes generally cannot proceed without prepaying fees unless facing imminent danger of serious physical injury.