Foster v. John or Jane Doe, M.D.

Background

Foster Hasheem, who was incarcerated and proceeding without a lawyer, filed this civil action without paying the filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.

Payment or fee-waiver requirement

The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $400 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee—or submit the required application and authorization. If the court grants the application, the $350 filing fee must be collected in installments from the prisoner's account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to send the court certified account statements for the preceding six months.

The court gave Foster Hasheem 30 days from the order's date to pay the fees or submit the application and authorization, labeled with docket number 20-CV-9924 (CM). The order stated that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within that period.

Other actions by the court

The Clerk was directed to mail the order to Foster Hasheem and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that, if Foster Hasheem complied, the Clerk's Office would process the case under its procedures. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. Finally, the order warned that certain dismissals of a prisoner's federal civil action can count as strikes under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, and that three strikes generally prevent the prisoner from proceeding without prepaying fees unless he faces imminent danger of serious physical injury.