King v. Trump

Background

Gerry-Alan King, who was incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility and represented himself, filed this civil action without paying the required fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.

Fee and form requirements

The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $400—the $350 filing fee and $50 administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. If permission is granted, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner's account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to deduct those payments and send the court certified account statements covering the previous six months. The $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.

Order

Judge Colleen McMahon ordered King, within 30 days of the order, to pay the $400 in fees or submit the required application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 21-CV-00987 (CM). The Clerk of Court was directed to mail the order to King and record service on the docket. No summons would issue at that time. The court stated that, if King complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures; if he did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.

The court 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 court 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). Three such strikes generally prevent a prisoner from proceeding without prepaying fees in later actions unless the prisoner faces imminent danger of serious physical injury. This order did not address the merits of King's claims.