Johnson v. Rikers Island
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:21-cv-02076
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In JINJA JJ JOHNSON v. RIKERS ISLAND (R.M.S.C.), Judge McMahon ordered Johnson to pay fees or submit forms to proceed without prepayment.
JINJA JJ JOHNSON, a prisoner representing himself, was required to pay the fees or submit the required forms within 30 days for the action to proceed.
What happened
JINJA JJ JOHNSON v. RIKERS ISLAND (R.M.S.C.) concerns a prisoner’s civil action filed without payment of the required fees or completed forms to proceed without prepaying them. The order identifies Johnson as representing himself and currently incarcerated at Rikers Island.
Judge McMahon ordered Johnson, within 30 days, either to pay the required fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment and a prisoner authorization. The authorization would allow installment deductions from Johnson’s account. No summons would issue at that time.
Judge Colleen McMahon stated that the case would proceed through the Clerk’s Office if Johnson complied and would be dismissed if he did not. She also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal from the order and cautioned about possible filing “strikes” for certain later dismissals.
The detailed version
- Johnson v. Rikers Island · No. 1:21-cv-02076
- Colleen McMahon
- Mar. 11, 2021
Background
JINJA JJ JOHNSON, who the order states is incarcerated at Rikers Island, filed a civil action representing himself. The complaint was submitted without the filing fees, a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees, or a prisoner authorization.
Fee and application requirements
The court explained that a prisoner bringing a civil action must either pay the filing and administrative fees or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. The order initially describes the total fees as $402: a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee. If permission to proceed without prepayment is granted, the $350 filing fee must be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. A prisoner authorization directs the facility to make those deductions and provide certified account statements for the preceding six months.
Order
Within 30 days of the order, Johnson was required either to pay $400 in fees or submit the attached application and prisoner authorization forms, labeled with docket number 21-CV-2076 (CM). The Clerk was directed to mail the order to Johnson and note service on the docket. The court directed that no summons issue at that time.
If Johnson 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. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
Additional warning and disposition
The court cautioned that a prisoner may receive a filing “strike” if an action is dismissed as frivolous or for failing to state a claim. After three such strikes, a prisoner generally cannot bring new actions without prepaying fees unless the prisoner faces imminent danger of serious physical injury. The order itself did not decide the merits of Johnson’s claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.