Giddings v. United States

Background

Warren Mathew Giddings filed this civil action without paying the filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization. The opinion states that Giddings is incarcerated at Jessup Correctional Institution and is proceeding without a lawyer.

Order

The court explained that a prisoner 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 under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to provide certified account statements for the preceding six months and make the required deductions.

The court ordered Giddings, within 30 days of the order, to pay the $402 or submit the required application and authorization, labeled with docket number 23-CV-7241 (LTS). No answer from the United States was required at that stage. The court stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures if Giddings complied and that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within the permitted time.

Disposition

Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Giddings to pay the fees or submit the required documents. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. This order addressed filing requirements and did not resolve the underlying claims.