Gannaway v. People of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-07674
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Gannaway v. People of New York, Chief Judge Swain ordered payment or a fee-waiver application within 30 days.
Shakur D. Gannaway must either pay the $5 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days; the People of New York was not required to answer at that time.
What happened
Gannaway v. People of New York involves a petition using a procedure called coram nobis. Shakur D. Gannaway filed it without a filing fee or an application to proceed without prepaying fees, and was representing himself.
The court ordered Gannaway, within 30 days, either to pay the $5 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The court said no response from the People of New York was required yet and warned that the action would be dismissed if Gannaway did not comply.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the petition’s underlying issues.
The detailed version
- Gannaway v. People of New York · No. 1:21-cv-07674
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 13, 2022
Background
Shakur D. Gannaway, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition for a writ of error coram nobis, a procedure identified in the order by that name. He did not submit the required $5 filing fee or an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Fee requirement
The court explained that Gannaway could proceed only after paying the $5 filing fee or requesting permission to proceed without prepaying fees by submitting a signed application. The application had to be labeled with docket number 21-CV-7674 (LTS). If the court granted the application, Gannaway could proceed without prepaying the fee.
Order
The court ordered Gannaway to pay the filing fee or submit the completed application within 30 days of January 13, 2022. No answer from the People of New York was required at that time. The order stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Gannaway complied and that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within the allowed time.
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 Gannaway’s petition.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.