Buckshaw v. Fucito
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-02585
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Buckshaw v. Fucito, Chief Judge Swain ordered payment, a fee waiver request, and an original signature before processing the habeas petition.
John J. Buckshaw, who filed the petition without a lawyer, must satisfy the court’s fee and signature requirements for the case to proceed; the respondents were not required to answer at this stage.
What happened
In Buckshaw v. Fucito, John J. Buckshaw filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus without paying the $5 filing fee or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees. He also did not sign the petition.
The court gave Buckshaw 30 days from the order to pay the fee or submit a completed fee-waiver application labeled with the case number. He also had to sign and return the attached declaration. No response from the respondents was required at that time. If he did not comply within the deadline, the court said the action would be dismissed.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order to Buckshaw and record service. The court also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Buckshaw v. Fucito · No. 1:21-cv-02585
- Laura Swain
- May 31, 2021
Background
John J. Buckshaw, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The opinion does not address the substance of the petition or identify the underlying custody-related issue.
Court’s instructions
The court explained that Buckshaw could proceed only after either paying the $5 filing fee or requesting permission to proceed without prepaying fees by submitting a signed application. Buckshaw had submitted neither the fee nor an application, and he had also failed to sign the petition.
The court ordered Buckshaw, within 30 days of the order’s date, to do one of the following: pay the filing fee or complete and submit the attached application to proceed without prepaying fees. Any application had to include docket number 21-CV-2585. Buckshaw also had to sign and return the attached declaration. If the court granted the application, he would be allowed to proceed without prepaying the filing fee.
Disposition
The court did not require an answer from the respondents at that time. It stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Buckshaw complied, and that the action would be dismissed if he failed to comply within the allowed time. The Clerk was directed to mail the order to Buckshaw and note service on the docket. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. This order addressed filing requirements and did not decide the merits of the habeas petition.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.