Cochran v. Wichita, City of et al

Filing 5

ORDER granting 3 Motion for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis. The clerk of the court shall take the appropriate steps to serve defendants with the summons and complaint. Signed by Magistrate Judge Gwynne E. Birzer on 4/4/18. (rel)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS

MICHAEL T. COCHRAN,
Plaintiff,
v.
CITY OF WICHITA, KANSAS, et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No. 18-1007-JTM-GEB

ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed Without
Prepayment of Fees (ECF No. 3) and the attached Affidavit of Financial Status (ECF No.
3-1). For the reasons outlined below, Plaintiff’s Motion (ECF No. 3) is GRANTED.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), the Court has the discretion1 to authorize the filing of a
civil case “without prepayment of fees or security thereof, by a person who submits an
affidavit that . . . the person is unable to pay such fees or give security thereof.” “Proceeding
in forma pauperis in a civil case ‘is a privilege, not a right—fundamental or otherwise.’”2
After careful review of Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed Without Prepayment of Fees (ECF
No. 3, sealed) and the attached Affidavit of Financial Status (ECF No. 3-1, sealed), and the
comparison of his monthly income to his monthly expenses, the Court finds he is
financially unable to pay the filing fee.
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Barnett ex rel. Barnett v. Nw. Sch., No. 00-2499, 2000 WL 1909625, at *1 (D. Kan. Dec. 26,
2000) (citing Cabrera v. Horgas, 173 F.3d 863, at *1 (10th Cir. April 23, 1999)).
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Id. (quoting White v. Colorado, 157 F.3d 1226, 1233 (10th Cir. 1998)).

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed Without
Prepayment of Fees (ECF No. 3) is GRANTED. Because Plaintiff proceeds in forma
pauperis, the clerk of the court shall take the appropriate steps to serve Defendants with
the summons and Complaint as provided under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d) and Fed. R. Civ. P.
4(c)(3).

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated at Wichita, Kansas this 4th day of April, 2018.

s/ Gwynne E. Birzer
GWYNNE E. BIRZER
United States Magistrate Judge

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