Clark v. Gilbert et al

Filing 6

ORDER signed by Judge Pamela Pepper on 4/26/2018. 4 Plaintiff's objection to applicability of Prison Litigation Reform Act OVERRULED. By 5/18/2018 plaintiff to file certified copy of trust account statement for 6-month period preceding filing of his complaint. Failure to file may result in requirement that the plaintiff pay filing fee in full or dismissal of case for failure to diligently pursue it. (cc: all counsel, via mail to Ernest Clark at Butner FMC)(cb)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
______________________________________________________________________________
ERNEST FRANKLIN CLARK,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 18-cv-337-pp

J. PHIL GILBERT and
UNKNOWN NAMED OFFICERS OF THE COURT,
Defendants.
______________________________________________________________________________
ORDER REQUIRING THE PLAINTIFF TO FILE A CERTIFIED COPY OF HIS
TRUST ACCOUNT STATEMENT FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIOD
IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE FILING OF THE COMPLAINT
______________________________________________________________________________
The plaintiff, who is confined at the Butner Federal Medical Center, is
representing himself. He has filed a civil rights complaint, alleging that the
defendants violated his constitutional rights. Dkt. No. 1. He also filed a motion
for leave to proceed without prepayment of the filing fee. Dkt. No. 2. On March
5, 2018, a deputy clerk from the Clerk of Court’s office mailed the plaintiff a
letter, stating that the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) required him to file a
certified copy of his prison trust account statement for the preceding six
months. Dkt. No. 3. In response, the plaintiff has filed a document titled
“Plaintiff’s Objection to the Applicability of the Prison Litigation Reform Act.”
Dkt. No. 4.
In his letter, the plaintiff cites to Porter v. Nussle, 534 U.S. 516 (2002),
and states that the PLRA does not apply because his case does not concern
prison conditions, but rather concerns acts committed outside prison walls.
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Dkt. No. 4 at 1-2. The Porter case involved 42 U.S.C. §1997e(a), which says
that a prisoner cannot file a §1983 lawsuit “with respect to prison conditions”
“until such administrative remedies as are available are exhausted.” This is
commonly called the “exhaustion requirement” of the PLRA. In Porter, the
Supreme Court held that the PLRA’s exhaustion requirement applied to “all
inmate suits about prison life, whether they involve general circumstance or
particular episodes, and whether they allege excessive force or some other
wrong.” 534 U.S. at 532. Under Porter, then, an inmate whose §1983 complaint
does not involve prison life is not required to exhaust his administrative
remedies before he files his federal §1983 case.
A different provision of the PLRA, 28 U.S.C. §1915, governs payment of
the filing fee. Under that part of the PLRA, “[a] prisoner seeking to bring a civil
action . . . without prepayment of fees . . . shall submit a certified copy of the
trust account statement (or institutional equivalent) for the 6-month period
immediately preceding the filing of the complaint[.]” 28 U.S.C. §1915(a)(2). The
statute also states that “if a prisoner brings a civil action or files an appeal in
forma pauperis [without prepayment of the filing fee], the prisoner shall be
required to pay the full amount of a filing fee.” §1915(b)(1). The statute applies
to all prisoners who file civil cases, not just those who complain about prison
conditions. See §1915(a)(2), (b)(1). This law requires the plaintiff, just like other
inmate prisoners who ask to proceed without prepaying the filing fee, to submit
a copy of his trust account statement, to pay an initial partial filing fee and to
pay the remainder of the filing fee over time.
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The court OVERRULES the plaintiff’s objection to the application of 28
U.S.C. §1915. The court ORDERS that the plaintiff shall file a certified copy of
his trust account statement (or institutional equivalent) for the six-month
period immediately preceding the filing of the complaint in time for the court to
receive it by the end of the day on Friday, May 18, 2018. If the plaintiff does
not file his trust account statement in time for the court to receive it by the end
of the day on May 18, 2018, the court may require him to pay the filing fee in
full before proceeding, or may dismiss his case for failure to diligently pursue it
under Civil Local Rule 41.
Dated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this 26th day of April, 2018.
BY THE COURT:
________________________________________
HON. PAMELA PEPPER
United States District Judge

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