Johnson v. The City of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-06127
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Johnson v. City of New York, Chief Judge Swain ordered a prisoner to correct his payment authorization or pay filing fees.
Kamar Johnson, the incarcerated plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer; the order also directs the facility holding him to process any authorized account deductions.
What happened
In Johnson v. The City of New York, Kamar Johnson, who is incarcerated and representing himself, submitted an application to proceed without paying court fees upfront and a prisoner authorization.
The authorization allowed the court to collect only $150, but the required filing fee was $350. The order explained that the total amount to pay upfront would be $402, including a $52 administrative fee, although the administrative fee does not apply to people allowed to proceed without prepaying fees.
The court gave Johnson 30 days to pay $402 or submit the attached authorization for the full $350 filing fee. No summons would issue immediately, and the case would be processed if he complied; otherwise, the action would be dismissed. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Johnson v. The City of New York · No. 1:22-cv-06127
- Laura Swain
- July 21, 2022
Background
Kamar Johnson, who the opinion says is incarcerated at Upstate Correctional Facility, brought this action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application, along with a prisoner authorization.
Under the statutes cited by the court, a prisoner must either pay $402 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or seek permission to proceed without prepaying fees. If permission is granted, the $350 filing fee is still collected in installments from the prisoner's account. The prisoner authorization directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and provide certified account statements for the prior six months.
Issue
Johnson's submitted authorization allowed the court to collect only $150 from his prison account, rather than the full $350 filing fee required by the court's order.
Order
The court ordered Johnson, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the full $402 in fees or to complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization for the full $350 filing fee. The authorization was to identify docket number 22-CV-6127 (LTS).
No summons would issue at that time. If Johnson complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures. If he did not comply within the permitted time, the action would be dismissed. 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 did not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.