Fredricks v. Mills
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-04996
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Fredricks v. Mills, Judge Swain ordered petitioner Nigel Fredricks to pay the filing fee or submit an IFP application.
Nigel Fredricks, the petitioner proceeding without a lawyer, must either pay the $5 filing fee or submit an IFP application within 30 days; Warden Mills is the respondent, and no answer is required at this stage.
What happened
Fredricks v. Mills concerns Nigel Fredricks’s petition for a court order, which he filed without a lawyer. He did not pay the required filing fee or submit an application to proceed without paying it upfront.
The court gave Fredricks 30 days to pay the $5 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. If the court approves the application, he may proceed without paying the fee upfront.
The court said no response was required yet and warned that the action will be dismissed if Fredricks does not comply. Judge Swain also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Fredricks v. Mills · No. 1:21-cv-04996
- Laura Swain
- June 7, 2021
Background
Nigel Fredricks, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus against Warden Mills. The petition was submitted without the $5 filing fee and without an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without prepaying court fees.
Order
The court ordered Fredricks, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $5 filing fee or complete and submit the attached signed IFP application. The application had to include docket number 21-CV-4996 (LTS). The court explained that, if it grants the application, Fredricks may proceed without prepaying the fee.
The court directed the Clerk of Court to mail Fredricks a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No answer from the respondent was required at that stage. The court stated that, if Fredricks complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he does not comply within the permitted time, the action will be dismissed.
Disposition
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. This order addressed the filing-fee or IFP requirement and did not decide the underlying petition.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.