Henry v. Department of Corrections
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-02380
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Henry v. Department of Corrections, Judge Swain directed Michael Henry to pay filing fees or submit a prisoner authorization.
Michael Henry, an incarcerated plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer. The case will be processed if he satisfies the payment or prisoner-authorization requirement and will be dismissed if he does not comply within 30 days.
What happened
In Henry v. Department of Corrections, Michael Henry, who is incarcerated at Rikers Island, filed the case without a lawyer and submitted an application to proceed without paying filing fees upfront. He did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court gave Henry 30 days to either pay $405 in fees or complete and submit the prisoner authorization. That authorization would allow installment deductions from his prison account for the $350 filing fee and would provide the court with required account statements.
Judge Swain ordered that no summons issue yet. If Henry complies, the case will be processed by the Clerk’s Office; if he does not, the action will be dismissed. The court also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Henry v. Department of Corrections · No. 1:24-cv-02380
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 29, 2024
Background
Michael Henry, who is incarcerated at Rikers Island – North Infirmary Command, brought this action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without prepaying the filing fees, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Filing requirements
The court explained that a prisoner starting a civil action must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submit a signed IFP application and a prisoner authorization. If IFP status is granted, the $350 filing fee must be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to deduct those payments and send the court certified copies of the prisoner’s account statements for the previous six months.
Order
The court ordered Henry, within 30 days of March 29, 2024, to either pay the $405 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 24-CV-2380 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time. If Henry complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures; if he does not comply within the allowed period, the action will be dismissed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The order addresses filing requirements and does not decide the underlying claims against the Department of Corrections.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.