Walton v. Mukasey
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-09710
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Walton v. Mukasey, Judge McMahon ordered Andre Walton to pay fees or authorize installments, warning the action would otherwise be dismissed without prejudice.
Andre Walton, who must either pay the stated filing fees or submit the required prisoner authorization within 30 days to avoid dismissal without prejudice.
What happened
In Walton v. Mukasey, Andre Walton, representing himself, filed a request to proceed without paying court fees in advance. He stated that he was detained in a court-ordered drug-treatment program, which could make him a prisoner under the relevant filing-fee law, but he did not submit the required authorization to withdraw payments from his account.
The court gave Walton 30 days to either pay the stated $402 in fees or submit the completed prisoner authorization. That authorization would allow installment payments of the $350 filing fee from his account and require certified account statements. The court also said no summons would issue yet and warned that the action would be dismissed without prejudice if Walton did not comply.
Judge Colleen McMahon directed the Clerk of Court to mail Walton the order and record service. She also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Walton v. Mukasey · No. 1:20-cv-09710
- Colleen McMahon
- Jan. 6, 2021
Background
Andre Walton brought this action without a lawyer. He submitted an application asking to proceed without prepaying court fees. The opinion states that Walton indicated he was then detained in a court-mandated drug-treatment program on Wards Island. Under the filing-fee statute, a person detained in a drug-treatment facility because of criminal charges or a criminal-justice program may qualify as a prisoner.
Filing requirements
The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay the stated $402 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees and a signed prisoner authorization. If permission to proceed without prepaying fees is granted, the $350 filing fee must be collected in installments from the prisoner's account. The authorization also directs the facility to make those deductions and provide certified account statements for the previous six months. The opinion's footnote states that the $52 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
Walton submitted the fee-waiver application but not the prisoner authorization. The court ordered him, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the stated $402 or complete and submit the attached authorization labeled with docket number 20-CV-9710 (CM).
Order and disposition
The court directed the Clerk of Court to mail Walton a copy of the order and note service on the docket. It ordered that no summons issue at that time. If Walton complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures. If he failed to comply within the allowed period, the action would be dismissed without prejudice. The court also certified under the cited statute that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
Judge Colleen McMahon did not decide the underlying claims in the action. This order addressed only the filing-fee and prisoner-authorization requirements.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.