Brooks v. Judge of White Plains Criminal Court
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-04473
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Brooks v. Judge of White Plains Criminal Court, Judge Swain ordered detained plaintiff Brooks to pay fees or submit IFP papers before proceeding.
Emanuel Manny Brooks, Jr.; the order determined what he had to submit or pay before his action could proceed, and it stated that the action would be dismissed if he failed to comply.
What happened
Emanuel Manny Brooks, Jr. filed Brooks v. Judge of White Plains Criminal Court while detained in the Westchester County Jail and without a lawyer. He did not submit the required filing fees, completed application, or prisoner authorization.
The court gave Brooks 30 days to either pay $402 in fees or submit an application to proceed without paying fees upfront and a signed authorization for installment deductions from his account. The order stated that no summons would issue at that time.
If Brooks complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case; if he does not, the action will be dismissed. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying fees.
The detailed version
- Brooks v. Judge of White Plains Criminal Court · No. 1:21-cv-04473
- Laura Swain
- May 19, 2021
Background
Emanuel Manny Brooks, Jr. brought this civil action pro se, meaning without a lawyer. The opinion states that he was detained in the Westchester County Jail. He filed the complaint without paying the required fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without prepaying the filing fees, or a prisoner authorization.
Fees and required documents
The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $402—the $350 filing fee and $52 administrative fee—or submit a signed IFP application and prisoner authorization. If IFP status is granted, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to deduct those payments and provide certified account statements for the previous six months.
Order
The court ordered Brooks, within 30 days of May 19, 2021, to either pay the $402 in fees or submit the IFP application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 21-CV-4473 (LTS). The Clerk was directed to mail him the order and record service on the docket. No summons would issue at that time. If Brooks 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.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The order further cautioned that certain later dismissals could count as strikes under the prisoner-litigation statute.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.