Johnson v. McClain
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-08685
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Jinja J. Kyng Pariah Johnson v. Robert McClain, Judge Swain ordered payment or IFP paperwork within 30 days, or the case will be dismissed.
Jinja J. Kyng Pariah Johnson, an incarcerated plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer, must either pay the required fees or submit the required application and prisoner authorization within 30 days; failure to comply will result in dismissal of the action.
What happened
Jinja J. Kyng Pariah Johnson, who is incarcerated and represents herself, filed this case against Robert McClain and others without paying the required fees or submitting the paperwork needed to proceed without paying them upfront.
The court ordered Johnson, within 30 days, either to pay $402 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. The authorization would allow installment payments from the prisoner account and provide account statements. No answer was required at that time; the court said the case would be processed if Johnson complied and would be dismissed if Johnson did not.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order was dated November 4, 2022.
The detailed version
- Johnson v. McClain · No. 1:22-cv-08685
- Laura Swain
- Nov. 4, 2022
Background
Jinja J. Kyng Pariah Johnson filed this civil action while incarcerated at Rose M. Singer Center and proceeded without a lawyer. Johnson submitted the complaint without paying the filing fees and without completing an application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.
Fee requirements
The court explained that a prisoner bringing a civil action must either pay $402—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. A prisoner requesting that permission must submit a signed application and a prisoner authorization. If permission is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the $350 filing fee to be collected in installments from the prisoner's account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to deduct those payments and send the court certified account statements for the previous six months.
Order
The court ordered Johnson to do one of two things within 30 days of the order: pay the $402 in fees, or submit the attached application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 22-CV-8685 (LTS). The court stated that no answer was required at that time. If Johnson complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures. If Johnson failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal and prisoner filing warning
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), the court certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The court also cautioned that a future dismissal of a prisoner's federal civil action or appeal as frivolous, malicious, or failing to state a claim can count as a strike under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). After three strikes, a prisoner generally cannot proceed without prepaying fees in new federal civil actions unless the prisoner faces imminent danger of serious physical injury.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain therefore issued an order directing payment of fees or submission of the required application and authorization; the opinion did not decide the underlying claims against Robert McClain or the other defendants.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.