Boykins v. Lopez

Background

Tyrone Boykins, identified as currently incarcerated at the Orange County Correctional Facility and proceeding without a lawyer, filed this civil action against Officer Angel Lopez and other defendants. He submitted the complaint without paying the filing fees and without a completed application to proceed without prepayment of fees or a prisoner authorization.

Payment and application requirements

The court explained that a prisoner starting a civil action must either pay $400—the $350 filing fee and $50 administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment of fees and a prisoner authorization. If the court grants that application, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires collection of the $350 filing fee through installment deductions from the prisoner's account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and provide certified copies of the prisoner's account statements for the preceding six months.

Order

The court ordered Boykins, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $400 in fees or submit the attached application and prisoner authorization. Any forms were to identify docket number 21-CV-2831 (LTS). The Clerk of Court was directed to mail Boykins a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time.

The court stated that, if Boykins 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 would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepayment of fees for an appeal. The order did not decide the merits of Boykins's claims.