Evans v. Orange County Jail Dental Dept.

Background

James Earl Evans Sr., who the opinion says is incarcerated at Orange County Jail, filed this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted his complaint without paying the filing fees and without a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.

Court’s requirements

The court stated that proceeding with a civil action generally requires payment of $402: a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee. A prisoner may instead request permission to proceed without prepaying fees by submitting a signed application and a prisoner authorization. If that request is granted, the $350 filing fee must still be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The $52 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted that status.

The prisoner authorization must direct the facility holding the prisoner to deduct the filing fee in installments and send the court certified account statements for the previous six months.

Ruling and next steps

The court ordered Evans, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $402 in fees or submit the application and prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 22-CV-9768 (LTS). No answer from the defendants was required at that time. The court stated that the action will be dismissed if Evans does not comply. It also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not decide the underlying claims.