Bishop v. Byrd et al

Filing 4

ORDER to Cure Deficiency. Plaintiff shall, on or before February 17, 2017, pay the full $400.00 filing fee or file an in forma pauperis application with the information required by the Courts approved form. Signed by Magistrate Judge Charles B Goodwin on 01/27/2017. (jb)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
ADRIAN DESJUAN BISHOP,
Plaintiff,
v.
RAYMOND BYRD
Defendants.

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Case No. CIV-17-00064-C

ORDER
The Court is in receipt of a document that Plaintiff Arian DesJuan Bishop has
tendered to initiate this civil action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See generally Compl. (Doc.
No. 1); Compl. Exs. (Doc. Nos. 1-1 to 1-4). The document is deficient in the areas
indicated below:

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In forma pauperis application is not on the proper form.

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In forma pauperis application is not signed by the plaintiff under
penalty of perjury.

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In forma pauperis application is missing required financial
information and the signature of an authorized officer of the relevant
penal institution(s).

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In forma pauperis application is missing a certified copy of the
plaintiff’s institutional account(s) statement for the six-month period
preceding this filing.

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The complaint is not on the proper form and does not supply the Court
with the equivalent information required by the proper form.

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The complaint is missing the plaintiff’s original signature.

Plaintiff’s form 42 U.S.C. § 1983 Complaint includes an attachment and several
handwritten statements that the Court liberally construes as Plaintiff’s application to initiate

this action without prepaying fees or giving surety therefor. Compl. Ex. 1 (Doc. No. 1-1)
at 6; Compl. Ex. 4 (Doc. No. 1-4) at 1-4; see 28 U.S.C. § 1915; LCvR 3.3. An in forma
pauperis applicant who is incarcerated is required by federal statute and by this Court’s
Local Rules to provide the Court with certain information regarding his or her prison bank
account(s), which must signed by the prisoner under penalty of perjury and certified by an
appropriate prison official:
[A]ny court of the United States may authorize the commencement,
prosecution or defense of any suit, action or proceeding, civil or
criminal, . . . without prepayment of fees or security therefor, by a person
who submits an affidavit that includes a statement of all assets such prisoner
possesses that the person is unable to pay such fees or give security therefor.
Such affidavit shall state the nature of the action, defense or appeal and
affiant’s belief that the person is entitled to redress.
A prisoner seeking to bring a civil action . . . without prepayment of fees or
security therefor, in addition to filing the affidavit filed under paragraph (1),
shall submit a certified copy of the trust fund account statement (or
institutional equivalent) for the prisoner for the 6-month period immediately
preceding the filing of the complaint . . . , obtained from the appropriate
official of each prison at which the prisoner is or was confined.
28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1)-(2); accord LCvR 3.3(b). Plaintiff’s filing does not provide the
necessary information in the manner prescribed by 28 U.S.C. § 1915.1

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Section 1915 further provides that a prisoner shall not be allowed to bring an civil action
under this section
if the prisoner has, on 3 or more prior occasions, while incarcerated or
detained in any facility, brought an action or appeal in a court of the United
States that was dismissed on the grounds that it is frivolous, malicious, or
fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, unless the prisoner is
under imminent danger of serious physical injury.
28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). It appears that Plaintiff has acquired more than three “strikes” in this
Court alone. See R. & R. (Doc. No. 7) at 1-3, Bishop v. Byrd, No. CIV-16-761-C (W.D.
Okla. Aug. 4, 2016); Order Adpt. R. & R. (Doc. No. 8) at 1, Bishop v. Byrd, No. CIV-16761-C (W.D. Okla. Sept. 14, 2016).
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IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff—if he wishes to proceed with this lawsuit—shall,
on or before February 17, 2017, pay the full $400.00 filing fee or file an in forma pauperis
application with the information required by the Court’s approved form. Failure to comply
with this Order may result in the dismissal of this action. LCvR 3.2, 3.3(e), 9.2.
The Clerk of the Court is directed to send a blank Application for Leave to Proceed
In Forma Pauperis form (for prisoner cases) to Plaintiff along with this Order.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 27th day of January, 2017.

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