BROWN v. NEW JERSEY DOC et al
Filing
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MEMORANDUM and ORDER IFP is DENIED and Clerk shall supply Plaintiff with a blank IFP. ORDERED Clerk shall administratively terminate this matter and serve a copy of this Order upon Plaintiff. Signed by Judge Noel L. Hillman on 8/15/2012. (nz, )n.m.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
JERRY BROWN,
Plaintiff,
v.
NEW JERSEY DOC, et al.,
Defendants.
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Civil No. 12-5069 (NLH)
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Plaintiff, Jerry Brown, a state inmate confined at the MidState Correctional Facility in Wrightstown, New Jersey, at the
time he submitted this Complaint for filing, seeks to bring this
civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
Plaintiff failed to
pay the $350.00 filing fee and did not submit a complete
application to proceed in forma pauperis, pursuant to
28 U.S.C.
§ 1915.
The Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Pub. L. No. 104134, 110 Stat. 1321 (April 26, 1996) (the “Act”), which amends 28
U.S.C. § 1915, establishes certain financial requirements for
prisoners who are attempting to bring a civil action or file an
appeal in forma pauperis.
Under the Act, a prisoner bringing a civil action in forma
pauperis must submit an affidavit, including a statement of all
assets, which states that the prisoner is unable to pay the fee.
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28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1).
The prisoner also must submit a
certified copy of his inmate trust fund account statement for the
6-month period immediately preceding the filing of his complaint.
28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2).
The prisoner must obtain this statement
from the appropriate official of each prison or institutional
facility at which he was or is confined.
Id.
Even if the prisoner is granted in forma pauperis status,
the prisoner must pay the full amount of the $350 filing fee.
U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1).
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In each month that the amount in the
prisoner’s account exceeds $10.00, until the $350.00 filing fee
is paid, the agency having custody of the prisoner shall assess,
deduct from the prisoner’s account, and forward to the Clerk of
the Court payment equal to 20% of the preceding month’s income
credited to the prisoner’s account.
28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2).
Plaintiff may not have known when he submitted his complaint
that he must pay the filing fee, and that even if the full filing
fee, or any part of it, has been paid, the Court must dismiss the
case if it finds that the action is: (1) frivolous or malicious;
(2) fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted; or
(3) seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from
such relief.
28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B).
If the Court dismisses
the case for any of these reasons, the Act does not permit the
prisoner to get his filing fee back.
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If the prisoner has, on three or more prior occasions while
incarcerated, brought an action or appeal in a court that was
dismissed on any of the grounds listed above, he cannot bring
another action in forma pauperis unless he is in imminent danger
of serious physical injury.
28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
It does not
appear that this Plaintiff has incurred any dismissals pursuant
to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) to date.
In this case, Plaintiff failed to either pay the $350.00
filing fee, or submit a complete in forma pauperis application as
required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1); in particular, Plaintiff
failed to provide a complete in forma pauperis application that
contains a signed certification from an authorized officer of the
correctional facility where he presently is confined, with his
six-month institutional account statement, as prescribed under 28
U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2).
THEREFORE, it is on this 15th
day of
August
2012;
,
ORDERED that Plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma
pauperis is hereby DENIED, without prejudice; and it is further
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall supply to
Plaintiff a blank form Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis;
and it is further
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall administratively
terminate this case, without filing the complaint or assessing a
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filing fee; Plaintiff is informed that administrative termination
is not a “dismissal” for purposes of the statute of limitations,
and that if the case is reopened, it is not subject to the
statute of limitations time bar if it was originally filed
timely, see Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266 (1988)(prisoner mailbox
rule); McDowell v. Delaware State Police, 88 F.3d 188, 191 (3d
Cir. 1996); see also Williams-Guice v. Board of Education, 45
F.3d 161, 163 (7th Cir. 1995); and it is further
ORDERED that if Plaintiff wishes to reopen this case, he
shall so notify the Court, in writing addressed to the Clerk of
the Court, Mitchell H. Cohen Building & U.S. Courthouse, 4th &
Cooper Streets, Room 1050, Camden, New Jersey 08101, within 30
days of the date of entry of this Order; Plaintiff’s writing
shall include either (1) a complete in forma pauperis
application, including an affidavit of indigence, and six-month
prison account statement, signed and certified by an authorized
officer of the institution where he is confined, or (2) the $350
filing fee; and it is further
ORDERED that upon receipt of a writing from Plaintiff
stating that he wishes to reopen this case, and either a complete
in forma pauperis application or filing fee within the time
allotted by this Court, the Clerk of the Court will be directed
to reopen this case; and it is finally
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ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall serve a copy of
this Order upon Plaintiff by regular U.S. mail.
s/ Noel L. Hillman
NOEL L. HILLMAN
United States District Judge
At Camden, New Jersey
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