Az-Zahid v. Murphy
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:23-cv-06718
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Az-Zahid v. Murphy: Judge Swain ordered the prisoner to pay filing fees or submit authorization for account deductions within 30 days.
Salim Nafis Az-Zahid, an incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, must either pay the required fees or submit the missing prisoner authorization within 30 days to continue the case.
What happened
In Az-Zahid v. Murphy, Salim Nafis Az-Zahid, who was incarcerated and representing himself, filed a civil-rights case but submitted only an application to proceed without paying fees upfront. The court said prisoners must either pay the required fees or provide additional authorization.
The missing authorization would allow the prison to deduct the $350 filing fee from Az-Zahid’s account in installments and provide six months of account statements to the court. The order did not address whether Az-Zahid’s claims against CO Murphy or Sgt. John Doe had merit.
The court ordered Az-Zahid to pay $402 or submit the completed authorization within 30 days. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also directed that no summons issue yet, stated that the case would be processed if he complied, and said the action would be dismissed if he did not. The court denied permission to appeal without paying fees.
The detailed version
- Az-Zahid v. Murphy · No. 7:23-cv-06718
- Kenneth Karas
- Aug. 2, 2023
Background
Salim Nafis Az-Zahid, who was incarcerated at Sullivan Correctional Facility and represented himself, brought this civil action against CO Murphy and Sgt. John Doe, identified in the caption as employees of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. The opinion addresses only the filing requirements; it does not decide the allegations or claims.
Filing-fee requirements
The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $402 in fees—$350 for the filing fee and $52 for the administrative fee—or ask to proceed without paying fees upfront. A prisoner making that request must submit both a signed application and a prisoner authorization. If permission to proceed without prepayment is granted, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to send the court certified account statements for the previous six months.
Az-Zahid submitted an application to proceed without prepaying fees but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Order
The court ordered Az-Zahid, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $402 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 23-CV-6718 (LTS). No summons would issue at that time. If Az-Zahid 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 that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The opinion cautioned that certain dismissals of prisoner cases can count as “strikes” under federal law, and that three strikes generally limit a prisoner’s ability to file future federal civil actions without prepaying fees, subject to an exception for imminent danger of serious physical injury.
Disposition and scope
This was a procedural order concerning filing fees and authorization. It did not resolve the merits of Az-Zahid’s claims.
Judge-name note
The supplied case information identifies Kenneth Karas as the judge, but the opinion text is signed by Laura Taylor Swain, Chief United States District Judge. This summary follows the judge identified in the opinion text.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.