Ledesma v. Rikers Island Dept of Corrections
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-02211
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Ledesma v. Rikers Island Dept. of Corrections, Chief Judge Swain ordered payment or a prisoner authorization within 30 days.
Elias Ledesma and the processing of his pending action; the order did not decide the defendants’ liability or the merits of the claims.
What happened
Ledesma v. Rikers Island Dept. of Corrections concerns Elias Ledesma’s lawsuit, which he filed without a lawyer or payment of the filing fees. The court had previously required him to pay the fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them and a prisoner authorization. He submitted two applications but not the authorization.
The court gave Ledesma another opportunity. It ordered him, within 30 days, either to pay the $405 filing fees or submit the prisoner authorization. If he complies, the case will be processed by the Clerk’s Office; if he does not, the action will be dismissed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Ledesma permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Ledesma v. Rikers Island Dept of Corrections · No. 1:24-cv-02211
- Laura Swain
- May 23, 2024
Background
Elias Ledesma, who was detained at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island, filed this action without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without paying the filing fees or submitting both an application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization.
In an earlier order dated March 27, 2024, the court directed Ledesma either to pay the $405 required filing fees or to submit, within 30 days, a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. The court received two applications from Ledesma on April 20, 2024, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Court’s Order
Because Ledesma was proceeding without a lawyer, the court granted him another opportunity to submit the prisoner authorization. The court ordered him to pay the $405 filing fees or submit the attached prisoner authorization within 30 days of the order.
The court stated that, if Ledesma complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office’s procedures. If he fails to comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed. The order did not address the merits of Ledesma’s claims.
Appeal-Filing Determination
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.