Antrobus v. New York City
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-08822
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Antrobus v. New York City, Judge Swain ordered Andre Antrobus to pay fees or submit prisoner authorization within 30 days.
Andre Antrobus, who must either pay the required fees or submit a prisoner authorization within 30 days unless he informs the court that he is not facing pending criminal charges and therefore is not a prisoner. The underlying claims against New York City and the other defendants were not decided.
What happened
In Antrobus v. New York City, Andre Antrobus filed a civil action without a lawyer and submitted an application to proceed without prepaying fees. He is detained at Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center, but the court could not tell whether he faces pending criminal charges and therefore qualifies as a prisoner under the relevant law.
Because Antrobus did not submit the required prisoner authorization, the court ordered him, within 30 days, either to pay $402 in fees or to submit the authorization. If he is not facing pending criminal charges, he must tell the court and does not need to submit the authorization. The court did not issue a summons, and it said the action will be dismissed if he does not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued the order on October 26, 2022. The order addressed filing requirements and did not decide the claims in the lawsuit. The court also denied Antrobus permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Antrobus v. New York City · No. 1:22-cv-08822
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 26, 2022
Background
Andre Antrobus brought this action without a lawyer against New York City and other defendants. The opinion states that he was detained at Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center. It was unclear whether he faced pending criminal charges. If he did, he would qualify as a “prisoner” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(h).
Antrobus submitted an application to proceed without prepaying filing fees, commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis. He did not submit a required prisoner authorization.
Order
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $402 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submit the materials required to request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. If the court grants a prisoner’s fee-waiver application, the $350 filing fee must still be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization permits the facility holding the prisoner to deduct those payments and provide certified account statements for the previous six months.
The court ordered Antrobus, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $402 in fees or to complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 22-CV-8822. If he was not facing pending criminal charges and therefore did not qualify as a prisoner, he was instructed to inform the court and was not required to submit a prisoner authorization.
No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that, if Antrobus 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.
Other ruling
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. The order did not address the merits of Antrobus’s underlying claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.