VIRSNIEKS v. WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT IF HEALTH AND FAMILY SERVICES SANDRIGE SECURE TREATMENT CENTER et al

Filing 4

Order on ifp request: Petitioner to submit Trust Fund Account Statement. Trust Fund Account Statement due by 6/24/2008. Signed by Judge Barbara B Crabb on 6/3/08. (vob),(ps)

VIRSNIEKS v. WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT IF HEALTH AND FAMILY SERVICES SANDRIGE ... TREATMENT CENTER et alDoc. 4

Case: 3:08-cv-00313-bbc

Document #: 4

Filed: 06/04/2008

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FO R THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN --------------------------------------------A LB ER T M. VIRSNIEKS, Petitioner, ORDER 08-cv-313-bbc v. W IS C O N S IN DEPART. OF HEALTH A N D FAMILY SERVICES, SANDRIDGE SEC U R E TREATMENT CENTER and JOHN AND JANE DOE[S], Numbered 1 to 100, Employees of the State of Wisconsin whose names are currently u nk no w n , R espo nd ents. --------------------------------------------Petition er Albert Virsnieks, a patient at the Sandridge Secure Treatment Center in M au sto n , Wisconsin, has filed a proposed complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging violation s of his constitutional rights. In addition, he has submitted a petition and affidavit to proceed without prepayment of fees and costs. In support of his request for indigent status, petitioner has submitted an affidavit of in digen cy, in which he states that 1) he is not employed or married and does not own a

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Case: 3:08-cv-00313-bbc

Document #: 4

Filed: 06/04/2008

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ho m e, vehicle or other property; 2) he has two dependent children with past due child supp ort totaling $39,112.18; 3) he receives approximately $75 a month from the Sandridge Secure Treatment Center; 4) he is billed $294 per day for room and board; 5) he has m o n thly credit card payments of approximately $35 a month; and 6) he spends a p p ro xim ately $25 a month on hygiene and clothing. Petitioner has not attached to his affidavit a copy of his resident account statement for a six-month period. This court uses one method for determining the indigent status of all institutionalized persons, even those like petitioner who are not subject to the 1996 Prison Litigation Reform Act. See Longbehn v. United States, 169 F.3d 1082 (7th Cir. 1999). From a six-month resident account statement covering the full six-month period immediately preceding the filing of the petitioner's complaint, the court calculates two amounts, 20% of the petitioner's average monthly income and 20% of the petitioner's average monthly balance. Whichever am ou nt is greater is the amount the petitioner will have to prepay toward the $350 filing fee. H e will qualify for indigent status with respect to the remainder of the fee. (The in forma pauperis statute does not permit a court to waive entirely a petitioner's obligation to pay filing fees. All it does is allow a court to grant qualifying individuals leave to proceed w ithout prepaying some or all of the filing fee.) Because petitioner has not provided a resident account statement in support of his request for leave to proceed in forma pauperis he will be required to do so if he intends to pursue his request.

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Case: 3:08-cv-00313-bbc

Document #: 4

Filed: 06/04/2008

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P etitio n er's complaint was submitted on May 27, 2008.

His resident account

statem en t should cover the period beginning approximately November 27, 2007 and ending app roxim ately May 27, 2008. If, by June 24, 2008, petitioner fails to submit the required statem ent, I will assume he does not wish to proceed with this action and this case will be c lo s e d .

ORDER IT IS ORDERED that a decision whether petitioner may proceed in forma pauperis is STAYED until June 24, 2008, by which date petitioner must submit a resident account statement for the period beginning approximately November 27, 2007 and ending app roxim ately May 27, 2008. If, by June 24, 2008, petitioner fails to submit the required statem ent or show cause for his failure to do so, I will assume that he wishes to withdraw this action voluntarily and, in that case, the clerk of court is directed to close this file without

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Case: 3:08-cv-00313-bbc

Document #: 4

Filed: 06/04/2008

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prejudice to petitioner's filing his case at a later date. E n tered this 3r d day of June, 2008. B Y THE COURT:

/s/ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ B AR B AR A B. CRABB D istrict Judge

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