Broadnax v. Hallet
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:21-cv-02926
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Broadnax v. Hallet, Judge Swain ordered Cleveland Broadnax to pay fees or submit authorization before his prisoner lawsuit could proceed.
Cleveland Broadnax, an incarcerated plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer, was required to pay the fees or submit the missing prisoner authorization before the action could proceed.
What happened
In Broadnax v. Hallet, Cleveland Broadnax, who is incarcerated and representing himself, submitted an application to proceed without paying court fees upfront. He did not submit the required authorization allowing installment payments to be taken from his prisoner account.
The court gave Broadnax 30 days to either pay the required $402 in fees or submit the completed prisoner authorization. The order stated that no summons would issue at that time and that the case would be processed if he complied. If he did not comply within the deadline, the action would be dismissed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also stated that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Broadnax v. Hallet · No. 1:21-cv-02926
- Vernon Broderick
- Apr. 30, 2021
Background
Cleveland Broadnax filed a civil action against Warden Michelle Hallet, AMKC, and other defendants. The opinion states that Broadnax was incarcerated in the Vernon C. Bain Center and was proceeding without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying court fees, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Required Filing or Payment
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $402 in fees—the $350 filing fee and $52 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepayment. If permission to proceed without prepayment is granted, the filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner's account. The prisoner authorization directs the facility to make those deductions and provide certified account statements for the prior six months.
The order gave Broadnax 30 days from April 30, 2021, to pay the $402 or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization. The authorization was to include docket number 21-CV-2926 (LTS).
Court's Action
The court directed the Clerk of Court to mail Broadnax a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The order stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk's procedures if Broadnax complied and that the action would be dismissed if he failed to comply within the allowed period.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The court did not address the merits of Broadnax's claims. The opinion also cautioned that certain future dismissals of a prisoner's federal civil actions may count as strikes under the Prison Litigation Reform Act.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.