BECK v. STATE OF INDIANA

Filing 31

ORDER denying 24 Motion for Leave to Appeal in forma pauperis; denying 25 Motion to Appoint Counsel ; and denying 26 Motion for Certificate of Appealability. (copy to Petitioner via US Mail) Signed by Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson on 6/26/2012. (SMD)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
RICHARD BECK,
Petitioner,

v.
J. BASINGER,

Respondent.

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No. 2:10-cv-306-JMS-DML

Entry Concerning Selected Matters
The court, having considered the above action and the matters which are
pending, makes the following rulings:
1.
The petitioner’s renewed petition for a certificate of appealability [26] is
denied for the same reasons as explained in Part II of the Entry issued on May 20,
2011, and because the notice of appeal filed on June 20, 2012, is hopelessly untimely.
2.
The petitioner seeks leave to proceed on appeal without prepayment of
the appellate fees of $455.00. An appeal may not be taken in forma pauperis if the
trial court certifies that the appeal is not taken in good faith. 28 U.S.C. § 1915; see
Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438 (1962). "Good faith" within the meaning of
§ 1915 must be judged by an objective, not a subjective, standard. See id. There is no
objectively reasonable argument the petitioner could present to argue that the
disposition of this action was erroneous. In pursuing an appeal, therefore, the
petitioner “is acting in bad faith . . . [because] to sue in bad faith means merely to sue
on the basis of a frivolous claim, which is to say a claim that no reasonable person
could suppose to have any merit.” Lee v. Clinton, 209 F.3d 1025, 1026 (7th Cir. 2000).
Accordingly, his appeal is not taken in good faith, and for this reason his request for
leave to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis [24] denied.
3.
The petitioner has also filed a motion for appointment of counsel. That
motion [25] is denied because it has been filed in the wrong forum and because there
is no reason to appoint counsel in an appeal doomed to dismissal.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
06/26/2012
Date: _________________

_______________________________
Hon. Jane Magnus-Stinson, Judge
United States District Court
Southern District of Indiana

Distribution:
Richard Beck
No. 967008
Wabash Valley Correctional Facility
P.O. Box 1111
6908 S. Old U.S. Highway 41
Carlisle, IN 47838
[e-mail]