Jones v. Logan
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-02927
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Jones v. Logan, Judge Swain ordered Rafael Jones to pay fees or submit authorization for installment deductions within 30 days.
The order directly affects Rafael Arden Jones and determines what he must do for this case to proceed: pay the stated fees or submit the required prisoner authorization within 30 days.
What happened
Rafael Arden Jones, aka Rafael Arden Jones Sr., sued Tracey Logan and others in Jones v. Logan while incarcerated and representing himself.
The court said Jones had not submitted the authorization required to seek permission to proceed without paying fees upfront. It ordered him, within 30 days, to either pay $402 or submit the completed authorization allowing installment deductions from his prison account. No summons would issue yet.
The case would be processed if Jones complied and dismissed if he did not. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that an appeal would not be in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Jones v. Logan · No. 1:21-cv-02927
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 14, 2021
Background
Rafael Arden Jones filed this civil action while incarcerated at the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island. The opinion states that he was representing himself. The court had not received his required prisoner authorization.
Filing-fee 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 them. A prisoner seeking that permission must submit a signed application and a prisoner authorization. If permission is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the $350 filing fee to be collected in installments from the prisoner's account, and the authorization directs the facility to make those deductions and provide certified account statements for the previous six months.
The opinion first describes the total fees as $400, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee, but later orders Jones to pay $402. The opinion also explains that the $52 administrative fee does not apply to people granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court ordered Jones, within 30 days of April 14, 2021, either to pay $402 or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 21-CV-2927 (LTS). The Clerk was directed to mail him the order and note service on the docket. No summons would issue at that time.
If Jones 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. 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 prepaying fees. The court also cautioned that a later dismissal as frivolous or for failure to state a claim could count as a statutory strike, with consequences for future requests to proceed without prepaying fees.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.