Murray v. C.O. John Doe
- James Oetken
- 1:22-cv-00973
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Murray v. C.O. John Doe, Judge Swain ordered a prisoner to pay fees or authorize installment deductions before the case could proceed.
Robert L. Murray, who was required to pay the filing fees or submit authorization for installment deductions before his civil action could proceed.
What happened
In Murray v. C.O. John Doe, Robert L. Murray, also identified as Leviticus Lucifer, brought a civil case while incarcerated and asked to proceed without paying the fees upfront. He submitted the required application but did not submit the separate authorization allowing installment deductions from his prison account.
The court gave Murray 30 days to either pay $402 in fees or complete and submit the prisoner authorization. The authorization would allow collection of the $350 filing fee in installments; people granted permission to proceed without prepayment do not have to pay the separate $52 administrative fee. The court said no summons would issue yet.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the Clerk of Court to mail the order to Murray and record service. The case would be processed if he complied, but the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within the deadline. The court also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Murray v. C.O. John Doe · No. 1:22-cv-00973
- James Oetken
- Feb. 3, 2022
Background
Robert L. Murray, also identified as Leviticus Lucifer, filed this civil action while incarcerated in the George R. Vierno Center on Rikers Island. He was representing himself. The opinion does not address the underlying claims against C.O. John Doe or the other defendants.
A prisoner filing a civil action in the court must either pay $402 in fees or request permission to proceed without prepaying them. That total consists of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee. If the court grants permission to proceed without prepayment, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner's account under the Prison Litigation Reform Act.
Order
Murray submitted an application to proceed without prepaying fees, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization. That authorization directs the facility holding him to deduct the $350 filing fee in installments and send the court certified account statements for the previous six months.
The court ordered Murray, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the full $402 or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 22-CV-973 (LTS). The Clerk of Court was directed to mail him a copy of the order and note service on the docket. No summons would issue at that time.
Disposition and effect
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the case be processed under the Clerk's procedures if Murray complied. The court stated that the action would be dismissed if he failed to comply within the permitted time. This order did not decide the merits of Murray's claims. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order cautioned that a later dismissal as frivolous or for failure to state a claim could count as a strike under the prisoner-filing statute, but it did not make such a dismissal here.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.