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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Jan. 8, 2024

Fall v. Kopp

Judge
Laura Swain
Docket
1:23-cv-09683
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
2
HabeasCivil Procedure
In one sentence

In Fall v. Kopp, Judge Swain dismissed Cheichk Fall’s petition without prejudice because he neither paid the $5 filing fee nor filed a request to proceed without paying.

Who this affects

Cheichk Fall’s petition was dismissed without prejudice; M. Kopp is the named respondent.

What happened

In Fall v. Kopp, Cheichk Fall filed a petition in federal court. The court had previously directed him to either pay the required $5 filing fee or submit a request to proceed without paying because of inability to pay.

The court gave Fall thirty days to comply and warned that failing to do so would result in dismissal. Fall did not submit the request or pay the fee.

Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the petition without prejudice, meaning it was not permanently barred by this order. She also ruled that Fall could not proceed without paying court fees for an appeal because an appeal would not be taken in good faith.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Fall v. Kopp · No. 1:23-cv-09683
Judge
Laura Swain
Date
Jan. 8, 2024

Background

Cheichk Fall filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, a court request challenging the legality of a person’s custody or detention. The petition was initially filed in another federal district and was later transferred to the Southern District of New York.

By order dated November 7, 2023, the court directed Fall within thirty days to either pay the required $5 filing fee or submit a completed application to proceed without paying the fee. The order warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal. Fall did neither.

Ruling

The court dismissed the petition without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The order also directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.

Appeal-related ruling

The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied Fall permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal.

The authoritative version

Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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