Schulte v. United States of America

Background

Joshua Adam Schulte filed this civil action without paying the filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization. The order states that Schulte was incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center and was representing himself.

Court’s Order

The court explained that a prisoner bringing a civil action must either pay $402 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submit the forms required to request permission to proceed without prepayment. If that request is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires collection of the $350 filing fee in installments from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization also directs the facility to make those deductions and provide certified copies of account statements for the previous six months. The $52 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepayment.

The court ordered Schulte, within 30 days of the order, to pay the $402 or submit the completed application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 21-CV-5313 (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 order states that, if Schulte complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office’s procedures; if he did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.

Appeal and Scope of Ruling

Judge Laura Taylor Swain 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 prepaying fees. The order also cautioned that a later dismissal for being frivolous, malicious, or failing to state a claim could count as a strike under the prisoner litigation statute. This order addressed filing fees and required forms; it did not decide the merits of Schulte’s claims.