Jaime v. New York State Officers
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-00266
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Luis Jaime v. New York State Officers, Judge Swain ordered the prisoner to pay fees or submit authorization before the case could proceed.
Luis Jaime, who must either pay the required fees or submit a prisoner authorization within 30 days for the action to proceed; the underlying defendants are not affected by a merits ruling in this order.
What happened
Luis Jaime, who is incarcerated and representing himself, filed a civil action against New York State Officers and others. He submitted an application to proceed without paying fees upfront, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court ordered Jaime, within 30 days, either to pay $405 in fees or submit the completed prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 24-CV-00266 (LTS). No summons would issue at that time. The authorization would allow the $350 filing fee to be deducted from his prison account in installments and would provide the court with account statements.
Judge Swain said the case would be processed if Jaime complied, but the action would be dismissed if he did not. The court also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal from this order. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Jaime v. New York State Officers · No. 1:24-cv-00266
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 16, 2024
Background
Luis Jaime, who was incarcerated at Sullivan Correctional Facility and proceeding without a lawyer, filed this civil action. He submitted an application asking to proceed without prepaying court fees, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Order
The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepayment by submitting the required application and authorization. Even if permission to proceed without prepayment is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the $350 filing fee to be collected in installments from the prisoner's account.
The court ordered Jaime, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $405 or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization. The authorization had to identify docket number 24-CV-00266 (LTS). It would direct the facility holding Jaime to provide certified copies of his account statements for the previous six months and deduct the filing fee in installments. No summons would issue at that time.
Disposition
The court stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures if Jaime complied with the order. 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 proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain did not decide the merits of Jaime's underlying claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.