Ali v. Medical Dept. at Green Haven Correctional
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-01586
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Ali v. Medical Dept. at Green Haven, Judge Swain ordered Clifford Ali to pay fees or submit authorization within 30 days.
Clifford Ali must either pay the required fees or submit the prisoner authorization within 30 days for the action to proceed. The defendants are not affected by a merits ruling because the court did not decide the underlying claims.
What happened
Ali v. Medical Dept. at Green Haven Correctional Facility concerns Clifford Ali’s civil action, which he filed without a lawyer. Ali submitted an application to proceed without paying fees upfront, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court ordered Ali, within 30 days, either to pay $402 in fees or complete and submit the prisoner authorization. The authorization would allow installment deductions from his prisoner account. The court also directed that no summons be issued yet and warned that the action will be dismissed if Ali does not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The court did not decide the underlying claims in this order.
The detailed version
- Ali v. Medical Dept. at Green Haven Correctional · No. 1:22-cv-01586
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 28, 2022
Background
Clifford Ali, who was incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility, brought this civil action without a lawyer. To proceed in federal court, a prisoner must either pay the required fees or request permission to proceed without prepaying them. A prisoner requesting that permission must submit both a signed application and a prisoner authorization.
Ali submitted the application but not the prisoner authorization. The authorization would direct the correctional facility to deduct the $350 filing fee from his account in installments and send the court certified copies of his account statements for the previous six months.
Order
The court ordered Ali, within 30 days of the order, to either pay $402 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 22-CV-1586. The $402 consists of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee. The court explained that the $52 administrative fee does not apply if the court grants permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
The court directed that no summons issue at that time. If Ali complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed. The court also cautioned about the possible consequences under federal law if a prisoner’s action is later dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failing to state a legally sufficient claim.
Appeal and disposition
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. This order addressed the filing-fee and prisoner-authorization requirements; it did not decide the merits of Ali’s underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.