Logan v. State of New York DOCCS
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-08902
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Logan v. State of New York DOCCS, Judge Swain ordered Joseph Logan to pay fees or submit forms to proceed, without deciding his claims.
Joseph Logan, who must either pay the required fees or submit the specified forms within 30 days for the action to proceed; the underlying defendants were not required to answer at this stage.
What happened
Joseph Logan brought Logan v. State of New York DOCCS, et al., without a lawyer while incarcerated at Woodbourne Correctional Facility. He submitted his complaint but did not pay the required fees or submit the forms needed to ask to proceed without paying fees upfront.
The court gave Logan 30 days to either pay $402 or submit a signed application and authorization allowing filing-fee payments to be deducted from his prison account in installments. The court said no answer was required yet and that the case would be processed if he complied; if he did not, the action would be dismissed.
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 paying fees. The order did not decide the claims in the lawsuit.
The detailed version
- Logan v. State of New York DOCCS · No. 1:22-cv-08902
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 25, 2022
Background
Joseph Logan filed this civil action without a lawyer while incarcerated at Woodbourne Correctional Facility. He submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without completing an application to proceed without prepaying fees or the required prisoner authorization.
Court’s Order
The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $402 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. If the court grants the application, the $350 filing fee must still be paid in installments deducted from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to provide certified account statements for the prior six months and make the required deductions.
The court ordered Logan, within 30 days of the order, to pay the $402 or submit the completed application and prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 22-CV-8902 (LTS). The court stated that no answer was required at that time. If Logan complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal and Effect
The court certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order was procedural and did not address whether Logan’s underlying claims were legally valid. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order as Chief United States District Judge.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.