Figueroa v. The People of The State of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-01278
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Figueroa v. The People of New York, Judge Swain dismissed the petition without prejudice after Figueroa neither paid nor sought a fee waiver.
Angel Figueroa’s petition was dismissed without prejudice because he did not pay the $5 filing fee or submit the required application to proceed without paying it. Permission to appeal without paying the fee was also denied.
What happened
In Figueroa v. The People of The State of New York, the petitioner filed a petition challenging his custody in federal court.
The court had ordered Figueroa to pay the required $5 filing fee or submit an application to proceed without paying it. The deadline passed, and he did neither.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the petition without prejudice and directed the clerk to enter judgment. She also denied permission to appeal without paying the fee, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Figueroa v. The People of The State of New York · No. 1:23-cv-01278
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 11, 2023
Background
Angel Figueroa filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, a court request challenging the legality of custody. On February 15, 2023, the court ordered him, within 30 days, either to submit a completed application to proceed without paying the filing fee or to pay the required $5 fee. The order warned that failure to comply would result in dismissal.
Court’s action
Figueroa did not submit the application or pay the fee. The court therefore dismissed the petition without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. “Without prejudice” means the dismissal does not itself bar refiling.
Appeal and disposition
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the fee. The clerk was directed to enter judgment. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order on April 11, 2023.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.