Coleman v. Hevett
- James Oetken
- 1:22-cv-08913
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Coleman v. Hevett, Judge Swain ordered the petitioner to pay the fee or request a fee waiver and sign the petition within 30 days.
Anthony J. Coleman, Jr.; the order requires him to pay the filing fee or submit a fee-waiver application and to sign the petition, or the action will be dismissed.
What happened
In Coleman v. Hevett, Anthony J. Coleman, Jr., representing himself, filed a petition asking for relief from custody without paying the $5 filing fee or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees. The petition was also unsigned.
The court gave Coleman 30 days to pay the fee or submit the required application and to sign and return the signature page. No response from the respondent was required yet. If Coleman did not comply within that period, the action would be dismissed; if he complied, the case would continue through the court clerk’s procedures.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also determined that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Coleman v. Hevett · No. 1:22-cv-08913
- James Oetken
- Oct. 24, 2022
Background
Anthony J. Coleman, Jr., who was proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The petition was unsigned. Coleman also did not pay the $5 filing fee or submit an application to proceed without prepaying court fees.
The court explained that a person filing this type of petition must either pay the filing fee or submit a completed and signed application asking to proceed without prepaying fees. A person filing without a lawyer must also personally sign the petition.
Order
The court ordered Coleman, within 30 days of the order’s date, to do both of the following:
- Pay the $5 filing fee or complete and submit the attached application to proceed without prepaying fees; and - Sign and submit the attached signature page.
The court stated that, if Coleman submitted the application and signature page, those documents should include docket number 22-CV-8913 (LTS). If the court approved the application, Coleman could proceed without paying the fee in advance. The court did not require the respondent to file an answer at that time.
Disposition and Appeal
The order did not decide the substance of Coleman’s habeas petition. It directed him to correct the filing and satisfy the fee requirement. The court stated that the action would be dismissed if he failed to comply within the allowed period. The court also 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 opinion is signed by Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.