HAMMOND v. BAYSIDE STATE PRISON et al

Filing 2

OPINION. Signed by Judge Noel L. Hillman on 6/8/2015. (bdk, )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
___________________________________
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Petitioner,
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v.
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WARDEN BAYSIDE STATE PRISON,
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et al.,
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Respondents.
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___________________________________:
ALEEM HAMMOND,

Civ. No. 15-3335 (NLH)
OPINION

APPEARANCES:
Aleem Hammond, #385445C/532878
Bayside State Prison
P.O. BOX F-2
Leesburg, NJ 08327
Petitioner, Pro se

HILLMAN, District Judge
Petitioner Aleem Hammond, a prisoner confined at the
Bayside State Prison in Leesburg, New Jersey, files this writ of
habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, challenging his state
court conviction.
The filing fee for a petition for writ of habeas corpus is
$5.00.

Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 54.3(a), the filing fee is

required to be paid at the time the petition is presented for
filing.

Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 81.2(b), whenever a

prisoner submits a petition for writ of habeas and seeks to
proceed in forma pauperis, that petitioner must submit (a) an
affidavit setting forth information which establishes that the

petitioner is unable to pay the fees and costs of the
proceedings, and (b) a certification signed by an authorized
officer of the institution certifying (1) the amount presently
on deposit in the prisoner's prison account and, (2) the
greatest amount on deposit in the prisoners institutional
account during the six-month period prior to the date of the
certification.

If the institutional account of the petitioner

exceeds $200, the petitioner shall not be considered eligible to
proceed in forma pauperis. L. CIV. R. 81.2(c).
Petitioner did not prepay the $5.00 filing fee for a habeas
petition as required by Local Civil Rule 54.3(a), nor did
Petitioner submit an application for leave to proceed in forma
pauperis. See L. CIV. R. 81.2(b).
Accordingly, this matter will be administratively
terminated for failure to satisfy the filing fee requirement.
Petitioner will be granted leave to apply to reopen by either
paying the filing fee or submitting a complete application for
leave to proceed in forma pauperis.
Petitioner is reminded that, in accordance with Local Civil
Rule 81.2(b), an in forma pauperis, must include (a) an
affidavit setting forth information which establishes that the
petitioner is unable to pay the fees and costs of the
proceedings, and (b) a certification signed by an authorized
officer of the institution certifying (1) the amount presently

on deposit in the prisoner's prison account and, (2) the
greatest amount on deposit in the prisoners institutional
account during the six-month period prior to the date of the
certification.
To the extent Petitioner asserts that institutional
officials have refused to provide the certified account
statement, any such assertion must be supported by an affidavit
detailing the circumstances of Petitioner's request for a
certified account statement and the institutional officials'
refusal to comply, including the dates of such events and the
names of the individuals involved.
Additionally, the Court notes that the Petition is largely
blank.

It is therefore unclear the precise conviction

Petitioner means to challenge, the basis for said challenge, and
the relief sought by Petitioner.

Finally, the signature page of

the Petition is not properly dated.
In the event Petitioner chooses to further pursue this
legal action by paying the filing fee or submitting a complete
in forma pauperis application, he is instructed that more
information is required for the Court to conduct a proper
analysis of the Petition, itself.

Specifically, the petition

must: (1) specify all the grounds for relief available to the
petitioner; (2) state the facts supporting each ground; (3)
state the relief requested; (4) be printed, typewritten, or

legibly handwritten; and (5) be signed under penalty of perjury
by the petitioner or by a person authorized to sign it for the
petitioner under 28 U.S.C. § 2242. See Rule 2(c) of the Rules
Governing Section 2254 Cases.
Petitioner can provide this information to the Court by
submitting an Amended Petition filled out on the court-provided
forms.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, the Clerk of the Court will
be ordered to administratively terminate this action without
prejudice. 1

Petitioner will be granted leave to apply to re-open

within 30 days, by either prepaying the filing fee or submitting
a complete application for leave to proceed in forma pauperis.
An appropriate Order will be entered.

____s/ Noel L. Hillman____
NOEL L. HILLMAN
United States District Judge

Dated: June 8, 2015
At Camden, New Jersey

1

Such an administrative termination is not a “dismissal” for
purposes of the statute of limitations, and if the case is reopened pursuant to the terms of the accompanying Order, it is
not subject to the statute of limitations time bar if it was
originally submitted timely. See Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266
(1988) (prisoner mailbox rule); Papotto v. Hartford Life & Acc.
Ins. Co., 731 F.3d 265, 275-76 (3d Cir. 2013) (collecting cases
and explaining that a District Court retains jurisdiction over,
and can re-open, administratively closed cases).