Maati v. Ebsen et al

Filing 6

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER provisionally granting Plaintiff's 2 Motion for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis. The Clerk of the Court is directed to send a copy of this memorandum and order to the appropriate officials at the Norfolk Regional Center. Ordered by Judge John M. Gerrard. (Copy mailed to pro se party and as directed)(MKR)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA
AMIKET EN MAATI,
Plaintiff,
v.
ANN EBSEN, Chairperson, Sarpy
County Board of Mental Health, et
al.,
Defendants.

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8:12CV175

MEMORANDUM
AND ORDER

This matter is before the court on Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to Proceed In
Forma Pauperis (“IFP”). (Filing No. 2.) Upon review of the record in this case, the
court finds that Plaintiff is financially eligible to proceed IFP, and the court will
presume that Plaintiff is not a prisoner for the purposes of the Prison Litigation
Reform Act (“PLRA”).
The term “prisoner” under the PLRA “means any person incarcerated or
detained in any facility who is accused of, convicted of, sentenced for, or adjudicated
delinquent for, violations of criminal law or the terms and conditions of parole,
probation, pretrial release, or diversionary program.” Kolocotronis v. Morgan, 247
F.3d 726, 728 (8th Cir. 2001) (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1915(h)). A person involuntarily
committed as a mental patient, and not as a result of a criminal conviction, is not a
“prisoner” for the purposes of the PLRA. Id.; see also Jackson v. Johnson, 475 F.3d
261, 266 (5th Cir. 2007); Willis v. Smith, No. C04-4012-MWB, 2005 WL 550528, *9
(N.D. Iowa 2005).
The record does not disclose whether Plaintiff’s current commitment to the
Norfolk Regional Center arises from any criminal conviction. However, to facilitate
a more expeditious resolution of this case, the court will presume that Plaintiff is

residing at the Norfolk Regional Center as a patient and not as the result of a criminal
conviction.
Upon review of the record, Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to Proceed IFP is
granted, and Plaintiff is relieved from payment of the filing fee in this matter.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that:
1.
Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to Proceed IFP (filing no. 2) is provisionally
granted. Plaintiff is not required to pay the filing fee in this matter.
2.
The Clerk of the court is directed to send a copy of this Memorandum
and Order to the appropriate officials at the Norfolk Regional Center.
DATED this 24th day of May, 2012.
BY THE COURT:
s/ John M. Gerrard
United States District Judge

*This opinion may contain hyperlinks to other documents or Web sites. The
U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska does not endorse, recommend,
approve, or guarantee any third parties or the services or products they provide on
their Web sites. Likewise, the court has no agreements with any of these third parties
or their Web sites. The court accepts no responsibility for the availability or
functionality of any hyperlink. Thus, the fact that a hyperlink ceases to work or
directs the user to some other site does not affect the opinion of the court.
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