Okafor v. United States
- Lewis Kaplan
- 1:23-cv-03544
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Okafor v. United States, Judge Kaplan ordered Okafor to pay fees or submit paperwork to proceed without prepayment.
Plaintiff Nzelo Okafor, who is incarcerated and proceeding without a lawyer, must either pay the required fees or submit an IFP application and prisoner authorization within 30 days. The United States was not required to respond at this stage.
What happened
Okafor v. United States concerns a pro se motion under Rule 41(g) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The court treated the motion, originally submitted in Okafor’s criminal case, as a new civil action and noted that he is incarcerated at FCI Jesup.
The court required Okafor either to pay the filing fees or to submit a signed application to proceed without paying them upfront, along with authorization for prison-account payments. The opinion says the fees total $402 in one section but states $462 in its conclusion.
The court gave Okafor 30 days to comply and said the case would be dismissed if he did not. No response from the United States was required yet. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Okafor v. United States · No. 1:23-cv-03544
- Lewis Kaplan
- May 11, 2023
Background
N zelo Okafor, who is incarcerated at FCI Jesup, filed a pro se action seeking relief under Rule 41(g) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The opinion does not describe the underlying property or other relief sought. Okafor originally submitted the Rule 41(g) motion in his criminal case. By an April 27, 2023 order, the court directed the Clerk of Court to open the motion as a new civil action.
Filing-fee requirements
The court explained that a person bringing a civil action generally must pay a filing fee and an administrative fee, or request permission to proceed without paying the fees upfront. That request is called an application to proceed in forma pauperis, or an IFP application. A prisoner seeking that status must also submit a signed prisoner authorization allowing installment payments from the prisoner’s account and providing certified account statements for the preceding six months.
One part of the opinion states that the required fees are $402: a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee. The conclusion instead directs Okafor to pay $462 in filing fees. The opinion does not explain this difference. It also states that the $52 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted IFP status.
Order
The court directed Okafor to pay the fees or submit an IFP application and prisoner authorization within 30 days of the order. The documents were to identify docket number 23-CV-3544 (LAK). If the court grants the IFP application, Okafor may proceed without prepaying the fees. No responsive pleading was required at that stage. The court stated that, if Okafor complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
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 IFP status for purposes of an appeal. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.