Clark v. The State of New York
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:22-cv-06635
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Clark v. The State of New York, Chief Judge Swain ordered payment or an application to proceed without fees within 30 days.
Eric Wade Clark, who must either pay the $5 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days; the action may be dismissed if he does not comply.
What happened
Clark filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus without paying the filing fee or submitting an application to proceed without paying fees. The opinion identifies Clark as representing himself.
The court ordered Clark, within 30 days, either to pay the $5 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. No response from the respondents was required at that time.
The court stated that the case would be processed if Clark complied and would be dismissed if he did not. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied fee-free status for any appeal from this order because the appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Clark v. The State of New York · No. 7:22-cv-06635
- Kenneth Karas
- Aug. 8, 2022
Background
Eric Wade Clark, who was proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus against The State of New York and other respondents. He submitted the petition without the required $5 filing fee and without an application to proceed without prepaying court fees.
Order
The court explained that a habeas petitioner must either pay the filing fee or submit a signed application requesting permission to proceed without prepaying fees. The court gave Clark 30 days from the date of the order to do one of those two things. Any application was required to identify docket number 22-CV-6635 (LTS). The court stated that, if it granted the application, Clark could proceed without prepaying fees.
The court also stated that no answer from the respondents was required at that time. If Clark complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he failed to comply within the permitted time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal provision and disposition
The order did not decide the underlying habeas petition. Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.