Cheng v. Cash

Background

Sheng-Wen Cheng filed this civil action without paying the required filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization. The opinion states that Cheng is incarcerated at Federal Correction Institution Sandstone and is proceeding without a lawyer.

Order

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 submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. If the court grants the application, the $350 filing fee must still be collected in installments from the prisoner's account. The authorization also directs the custodial facility to provide certified account statements for the previous six months and deduct the required amounts.

The court ordered Cheng to pay the $402 or submit the completed application and authorization within 30 days of the order. The documents must identify docket number 23-CV-2150 (LTS). The court directed that no summons issue at that time. It stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures if Cheng complied, but that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within the allowed time.

Appeal and Additional Notice

The court certified that an 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 later dismissal for being frivolous, malicious, or failing to state a legally sufficient claim could count as a statutory “strike” affecting a prisoner's ability to proceed without prepaying fees in future federal civil actions. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.