King v. Orange County Jail
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-02916
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In King v. Orange County Jail, Judge Swain ordered payment or a fee-waiver application within 30 days before the case could proceed.
Kejohna King, who was required to pay the fees or submit the required forms within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
Kejohna King sued Orange County Jail and other defendants while incarcerated at Orange County Correctional Facility. King filed the complaint without paying the required fees and without submitting a completed fee-waiver application or prisoner authorization.
The court gave King 30 days to either pay $405 or submit the required forms to request permission to proceed without paying the fees upfront. No summons would issue yet. If King did not comply within that period, the action would be dismissed; if King complied, the Clerk’s Office would process the case.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- King v. Orange County Jail · No. 1:24-cv-02916
- Laura Swain
- May 2, 2024
Background
Kejohna King brought this civil action without a lawyer while incarcerated at Orange County Correctional Facility. King submitted the complaint without paying the filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that a prisoner bringing a civil action must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submit the required application and authorization to request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. If that permission is granted, the $350 filing fee must still be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The prisoner authorization permits the facility to make those deductions and provide certified account statements for the previous six months.
Order
Within 30 days of the order, King had to either pay the $405 in fees or submit the application and prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 24-CV-2916 (LTS). The court directed that no summons issue at that time. It stated that, if King complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if King 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 appeal without prepaying fees.
Effect
This order addressed filing requirements and did not decide the merits of King’s claims against the defendants.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.