Frederick v. The State of New York

Background

Jordan Frederick, who was incarcerated at the Vernon C. Bain Center, filed this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepayment of fees or a prisoner authorization.

What the court required

The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $402—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepayment by submitting a signed application and a prisoner authorization. If the court grants that application, the $350 filing fee must be collected from the prisoner’s account in installments. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to deduct those payments and provide certified account statements for the previous six months.

The court ordered Frederick, within 30 days of the order, to pay the $402 or submit the required application and authorization forms labeled with docket number 21-CV-4244 (LTS). The Clerk was directed to mail him a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk’s procedures if Frederick complied and that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within the allowed time.

Other ruling and effect

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 prepayment of fees. The order cautioned that a later dismissal for frivolousness or failure to state a claim could count as a statutory “strike,” but it did not decide whether Frederick’s claims were frivolous or failed to state a claim. Judge Laura Taylor Swain’s order addressed filing requirements, not the merits of the lawsuit.