Court, Explained
U.S. Federal District Courts
←Back to docket
S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Jan. 5, 2021

Smith v. The People of The State of New York

Judge
Lewis Liman
Docket
1:20-cv-09708
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
2
Civil Procedure
In one sentence

In Osmondo Smith v. The People of The State of New York, Judge McMahon gave Smith 30 days to pay the filing fee or request waiver.

Who this affects

Osmondo Smith was given 30 days to pay the $5 filing fee or submit an application to proceed without paying it. If he failed to do so, the action would be dismissed without prejudice. The clerk was directed to mail him the order, and the respondent was not required to answer at that time.

What happened

In Osmondo Smith v. The People of The State of New York, Osmondo Smith had not paid the $5 filing fee or submitted the application required to ask that the fee be waived. He submitted another petition and a letter asking to add to his application.

The court gave Smith 30 days to submit the attached application or pay the filing fee. The clerk was directed to mail him the order, and no response from the State was required at that time. If Smith did not comply, the action would be dismissed without prejudice for failure to pay the fee or submit the application.

Judge Colleen McMahon also ruled that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the appeal fees.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Smith v. The People of The State of New York · No. 1:20-cv-09708
Judge
Lewis Liman
Date
Jan. 5, 2021

Background

The court had previously directed Osmondo Smith to pay the $5 filing fee or submit an application to proceed without paying it. Smith later submitted a second petition, which the clerk initially opened as a new proceeding. The court directed that petition to be filed in this action as an amended petition. Smith also sent a letter dated December 19, 2020, asking for permission to supplement his application. The opinion states that he still had not paid the filing fee or submitted an application to proceed without paying it.

Order

The court granted Smith 30 days to file the attached application or pay the filing fee. The clerk was directed to mail him a copy of the order and record service on the docket. The court stated that no answer was required at that time. If Smith complied, the case would be processed under the clerk's procedures. If he did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed without prejudice for failure to pay the filing fee or submit the application.

Appeal

The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the appeal fees. Judge Colleen McMahon issued the order. This order addressed payment of the filing fee and the application requirement; it did not decide the underlying petition.

The authoritative version

Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
Summary written with AI assistance. See how summaries are made. Spot something wrong? Tell us.