Lewis, Edward v. Stenz, Leon et al

Filing 18

ORDER Construing Notice of Appeal as Request to Proceed ifp. Leave to proceed ifp DENIED. The court CERTIFIES that the appeal is not taken in good faith for purposes ofFed. R. App. P. 24(a)(3). Signed by District Judge William M. Conley on 4/21/2015. (elc),(ps)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
EDWARD MAX LEWIS,
Plaintiff,

ORDER

v.
14-cv-446-wmc
App. No. 15-1808
LEON STENZ, et al.,
Defendants.

Judgment was entered in this case on March 30, 2015 after the court dismissed
plaintiff Edward Max Lewis’s complaint with prejudice as legally frivolous. Lewis has now
filed a notice of appeal. (Dkt. # 15). He has not paid the $505 appellate docketing fee, so
this court construes Lewis’s appeal to include a request for leave to proceed on appeal 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 Lewis 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 Lewis is attempting to
raise on appeal the 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 Edward Max Lewis’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), Lewis 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 thirty (30) days of the date of this order. With
that motion, he must include an affidavit as described in the first paragraph of
Fed. R. App. P. 24(a), along with a certified inmate trust fund account statement
and a statement of issues he intends to argue on appeal. Also, he must send along
a copy of this order. Plaintiff should be aware that he must file these documents
in addition to the notice of appeal he has filed previously.
Entered this 21st day of April, 2015.
BY THE COURT:
___/s/_________________
WILLIAM M. CONLEY
District Judge
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