Wade v. Melecio
- Gregory Woods
- 1:21-cv-09138
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Wade v. Melecio, Chief Judge Swain ordered Darius Wade to pay the fee or request fee-free status, warning the case would be dismissed otherwise.
Darius Wade, who was required to pay the filing fee or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days; the case could be dismissed if he did not comply.
What happened
In Wade v. Melecio, Darius Wade filed a petition asking for habeas relief while representing himself. He did not pay the required $5 filing fee or submit an application to proceed without paying it in advance.
The court gave Wade 30 days to pay the fee or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The court said no response from the respondent was required yet and warned that the case would be dismissed if Wade did not comply.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued the order. She also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Wade v. Melecio · No. 1:21-cv-09138
- Gregory Woods
- Nov. 4, 2021
Background
Darius Wade, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The opinion does not address the substance of his habeas claims. Wade submitted the petition without paying the $5 filing fee and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court directed Wade, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay the $5 filing fee or complete and submit the attached application to proceed without prepaying fees. The application was to identify docket number 21-CV-9138 (LTS). The court explained that, if the application were granted, Wade could proceed without prepaying the filing fee.
The Clerk of Court was directed to mail the order to Wade and record service on the docket. No answer from the respondent was required at that stage. The court stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures if Wade complied, but that the action would be dismissed if he failed to comply within the allowed period.
Appeal and disposition
The court certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. This was an administrative filing-fee order; it did not decide whether Wade was entitled to habeas relief.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.