Smickle v. The People of The State of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-02650
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Smickle v. The People of The State of New York, Judge Swain ordered payment or an application to proceed without fees.
Randel Smickle must pay the $5 filing fee, submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees, or notify the court about the earlier related proceeding within 30 days. The petition’s respondent was not required to answer at this stage.
What happened
Randel Smickle filed a petition asking the court to review his conviction, but he did not pay the required filing fee or submit an application to proceed without paying it. The case is Smickle v. The People of The State of New York.
The court gave Smickle 30 days to pay the $5 filing fee, submit a signed fee-waiver application, or tell the court in writing that the new petition was intended for an earlier related case. No response from the respondent was required at this stage.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the case proceed through the Clerk’s Office if Smickle complies and stated that the action will be dismissed if he does not. She also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Smickle v. The People of The State of New York · No. 1:23-cv-02650
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 3, 2023
Background
Randel Smickle, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, which is a request for federal court review of a person’s detention or conviction. The petition was submitted without the required $5 filing fee and without an application asking to proceed without prepaying court fees.
The court’s footnote states that Smickle had filed an earlier petition in a prior related proceeding challenging the same conviction. That earlier petition was pending before another judge. The court said Smickle could notify the court in writing within 30 days if he intended the new petition and accompanying letter to be filed in that earlier proceeding instead.
Order
Judge Swain ordered Smickle, within 30 days of April 3, 2023, to do one of the following: pay the $5 filing fee or complete and submit the attached application to proceed without prepaying fees. If the court grants the application, Smickle may proceed without prepaying fees. The application was to identify docket number 23-CV-2650 (LTS).
No answer from the respondent was required at that time. If Smickle complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed period, the action will be dismissed. The order did not decide the substance of Smickle’s habeas petition.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.