Palmer v. United States of America
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-04446
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Palmer v. United States, Judge Swain ordered Palmer to pay filing fees or submit authorization to deduct them from his account.
Oscar Palmer and the further processing of his remaining case in the Southern District of New York.
What happened
In Palmer v. United States of America, Oscar Palmer, who is incarcerated and representing himself, submitted an application to proceed without paying court fees upfront but did not submit the required prisoner authorization form. The court explained that the authorization would allow installment deductions from his account if permission to proceed without prepayment were granted.
The court gave Palmer 30 days to either pay $402 in fees or complete and submit the prisoner authorization form for this case. The court said no summons would issue at that time and that the case would be processed if Palmer complied. If he did not comply within the deadline, the action would be dismissed without prejudice.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also directed the Clerk of Court to mail Palmer the order and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Palmer v. United States of America · No. 1:21-cv-04446
- Laura Swain
- May 25, 2021
Background
Oscar Palmer, who was incarcerated at Essex County Correctional Facility and was proceeding without a lawyer, brought this civil action. The opinion states that the court had previously separated and transferred claims arising in New Jersey and claims against Essex County Correctional Facility Director Alfaro Ortiz. This order concerned only the case remaining in the Southern District of New York.
Palmer submitted an application to proceed without prepaying filing fees, commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis, but he did not submit the court's required prisoner authorization form. The court explained that, if a prisoner is permitted to proceed without prepaying fees, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires collection of the $350 filing fee through installment deductions from the prisoner's account. The separate $52 administrative fee does not apply to a prisoner granted that status.
Order
The court ordered Palmer, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay $402 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization form, labeled with docket number 21-CV-4446 (LTS). The authorization would direct the facility holding Palmer to deduct the $350 filing fee in installments and send account statements to the court.
The Clerk of Court was directed to mail Palmer a copy of the order and note service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. If Palmer 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 without prejudice.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The order did not reach the merits of Palmer's underlying claims. It also cautioned that a later dismissal for frivolousness or failure to state a claim could count as a qualifying strike under the prisoner litigation statute, but this order did not make such a dismissal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.