Casby v. Jackson
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-11295
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Casby v. Jackson, Judge Swain ordered Cyrus Casby to resubmit original legal-name signatures within 30 days or face dismissal.
Cyrus Casby, an incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, must submit original signatures using his legal name before the case can be processed.
What happened
In Casby v. Jackson, Cyrus Casby filed a civil lawsuit without a lawyer while incarcerated. He signed his complaint, application to proceed without prepaying fees, and prisoner authorization using the name “Original Mann.”
The court explained that an unrepresented party must personally sign court papers and that a prisoner seeking to proceed without prepaying fees must submit signed forms authorizing installment payments from a prison account.
Judge Swain ordered Casby to resubmit the signature pages using an original signature of his legal name within 30 days. No summons will issue yet, and the action will be dismissed if he does not comply. The court also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Casby v. Jackson · No. 1:23-cv-11295
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 19, 2024
Background
Cyrus Casby, also known as Original Mann, brought this civil action without a lawyer while incarcerated in Atwater, California. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims.
A prisoner who wants to bring a civil action without prepaying fees must submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment and a prisoner authorization. If permission is granted, the filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) also requires an unrepresented party to sign court papers personally, using a handwritten or otherwise personally placed signature.
Court’s ruling
Casby signed the complaint, the application to proceed without prepaying fees, and the prisoner authorization under the name “Original Mann.” The court ordered him to resubmit the signature pages for all three documents with an original signature of his legal name within 30 days of the order.
No summons will issue at this time. If Casby complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its usual procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order does not decide the merits of Casby’s underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.