Smith-Burrus v. Banning Police Dept.
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-09320
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Smith-Burrus v. Banning Police Dept., Judge Swain ordered pro se plaintiff Alfreda Smith-Burrus to pay $402 or apply to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days.
Alfreda Smith-Burrus, the plaintiff representing herself, must either pay the required $402 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days. The action will be dismissed if she does not comply within that time.
What happened
Smith-Burrus v. Banning Police Dept. is an action brought by Alfreda Smith-Burrus, who is representing herself. She submitted a complaint without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them.
The court ordered Smith-Burrus, within 30 days, to either pay $402 in filing and administrative fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The court said no summonses would issue at that time.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain stated that if Smith-Burrus complies, the case will be processed by the Clerk’s Office; if she does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed. The court also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Smith-Burrus v. Banning Police Dept. · No. 1:23-cv-09320
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 25, 2023
Background
Alfreda Smith-Burrus brought this action without a lawyer. She submitted the complaint without paying the required filing and administrative fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court explained that a plaintiff proceeding with a civil action must either pay $402— consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. The court directed Smith-Burrus to take one of those actions within 30 days of the order and to identify the case by docket number 23-CV-9320 (LTS) if she submits the application.
The court stated that, if it grants the application, Smith-Burrus may proceed without prepaying fees. No summonses would issue at that time. The court also stated that the case would be processed by the Clerk’s Office if Smith-Burrus complied, but that the action would be dismissed if she failed to comply within the allowed time.
Appeal-Fee Ruling
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not address the underlying claims in the complaint.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.