Wright v. Jamison
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-01570
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Wright v. Jamison, Judge Swain ordered the $5 filing-fee check returned and denied fee-free appeal status.
William Harold Wright, Jr., whose $5 filing-fee check was ordered returned and whose request to appeal without paying the fee was denied; the Clerk of Court was directed to return the check.
What happened
In Wright v. Jamison, William Harold Wright, Jr., filed a habeas petition without paying the filing fee or applying to proceed without paying it. The court had already directed that the case be transferred to the Middle District of Florida.
After that transfer order, Wright sent the court a $5 check for the filing fee. Because the case was closed in the Southern District of New York, the court directed the Clerk of Court to return the check.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied Wright permission to appeal without paying the fee. The order states that questions about paying any filing fee should be directed to the Middle District of Florida.
The detailed version
- Wright v. Jamison · No. 1:23-cv-01570
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 13, 2023
Background
William Harold Wright, Jr., filed a petition seeking habeas relief without paying the filing fee or submitting an application to proceed without paying it. On March 1, 2023, the court directed that the action be transferred to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The opinion does not state the reason for the transfer.
After the transfer order was entered, Wright submitted a check for the $5 filing fee. The Southern District of New York stated that the case was closed there and directed its Clerk of Court to return the check. The court said that Wright should contact the Middle District of Florida with questions about payment of any filing fee for the action.
Ruling
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to appeal without paying the filing fee. The order otherwise directed the Clerk of Court to return Wright’s check.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.