Sievert, Charles et al v. Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center et al

Filing 18

ORDER Construing Notice of Appeal as Request to Proceed ifp. Leave to proceed ifp denied. Signed by District Judge William M. Conley on 1/13/2014. (jef),(ps)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
CHARLES J. SIEVERT,
Plaintiff,

ORDER

v.
SAND RIDGE SECURE TREATMENT
CENTER, et al.,

13-cv-737-wmc
App. No. 14-1056

Defendants.

Plaintiff Charles J. Sievert filed this lawsuit against officials at the Sand Ridge
Secure Treatment Center, alleging that he was disciplined without due process for
violating facility rules. On December 23, 2013, this court dismissed Sievert’s complaint
as frivolous. Sievert has now filed a notice of appeal. (Dkt. # 15). Because he has not
paid the appellate docketing fee, he presumably requests leave to proceed in forma
pauperis. That request will be denied.
In determining whether a litigant is eligible to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal,
the court must find that he is indigent and, in addition, that the appeal is taken in good
faith for purposes of Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(3). See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) (“An appeal
may not be taken in forma pauperis if the court certifies in writing that it is not taken in
good faith.”). Although Sievert has been found eligible to proceed as an indigent litigant
previously in this case, the court cannot certify that the appeal is taken in good faith. In
that respect, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has instructed
district courts to find bad faith where a plaintiff is appealing claims that have been
dismissed as frivolous. See Lee v. Clinton, 209 F.3d 1025, 1026-27 (7th Cir. 2000). To

the extent that Sievert is attempting to raise on appeal the same legally frivolous claims
he raised in his complaint, the court certifies that the appeal is not taken in good faith for
purposes of Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(3). Accordingly, his request for leave to proceed in
forma pauperis on appeal must be denied.

ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. The court CERTIFIES that the appeal is not taken in good faith for purposes
of Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(3).
2. Plaintiff Charles J. Sievert’s request for leave to proceed in forma pauperis is
DENIED.
3. Although this court has certified that the appeal is not taken in good faith
under Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(3), plaintiff is advised that he may challenge this
finding pursuant to Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(5), by filing a separate motion to
proceed in forma pauperis on appeal with the Clerk of Court, United States
Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, within twenty (20) days of the date
of this order.
Entered this 13th day of January, 2014.
BY THE COURT:
/s/
_____________________
WILLIAM M. CONLEY
District Judge
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