Cheng v. Mautz

Background

Sheng-Wen Cheng filed this civil action without a lawyer while incarcerated at Federal Correction Institution Sandstone. Cheng submitted the complaint without paying the filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.

What the Court Ordered

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 request permission to proceed without prepaying fees by submitting a signed application and prisoner authorization. If that request is granted, the $350 filing fee must still be collected in installments from the prisoner's account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to provide certified account statements for the previous six months and deduct the required payments.

Within 30 days of the order, Cheng was required to either pay the $402 or submit the completed application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 23-CV-2151 (LTS). The court stated that no answer from the defendant was required at that time. If Cheng complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures; if Cheng failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.

Additional 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 and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The order itself did not decide the underlying claims against Jeremy Mautz.

Classification Basis

This is a procedural order addressing payment of filing fees and an application to proceed without prepaying them. It does not resolve the merits of Cheng's claims.