Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-91-06136/USCOURTS-ca10-91-06136-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 530
Nature of Suit: Prisoner Petitions - Habeas Corpus
Cause of Action: 

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ISIDRO 

v. 

ABASCAL, 

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 

TENTH CIRCUIT 

) 

) 

Plaintiff-Appellant , ) 

) 

) 

FILLJJ 

United States C'4urt of Appeal, Tenth Circuit 

APR 13 1993 

ROBERT L. HOECKER 

Clerk -

No. 91-6136 

RICHARD THORNBURGH, Attorney 

) 

) 

{D . C. No . CIV-90-1399-R) 

{W.D . Oklahoma) General of the United States, ) 

) 

Defendant-Appellee . ) 

ORDER AND JUDGMENT* 

Before LOGAN, MOORE and BRORBY, Circuit Judges. 

This matter is before the court on petitioner Isidro 

Abascal's motion for leave to proceed on appeal without prepayment 

of costs or fees. 

In order to succeed on his motion, plaintiff must show both a 

financial inability to pay the required filing fees and the existence of a reasoned, nonfrivolous argument on the law and facts in 

support of the issues raised on appeal. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915{a); 

Coppedge v . United States, 369 U.S. 438 (1962); Ragan v . Cox, 3 05 

F.2d 58 {10th Cir. 1962) . 

* This order and judgment has no precedential value and shall not 

be cited, or used by any court within the Tenth Circuit, except 

for purposes of establishing the doctrines of the law of the case, 

res judicata, or collate ral estoppel. 10th Cir. R. 36.3 . 

Appellate Case: 91-6136 Document: 010110200894 Date Filed: 04/13/1993 Page: 1 
Petitioner, an excludable alien currently confined at the 

Federal Correctional Institute, El Reno, Oklahoma, sought habeas 

corpus relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. He paid the filing 

fees to initiate this litigation and represented himself pro se. 

The district court denied his petition on the merits. Thereafter, 

petitioner filed a timely notice of appeal and application to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis (IFP), supported by a poverty 

affidavit. The district court denied petitioner's motion, finding 

he had sufficient resources in either his mandatory prison account 

or his personal money market account, to pay the filing fees. 

Docs. 22, 23. 

In support of his IFP motion in this court, petitioner signed 

a second affidavit which reveals $72.78 in his prison account, but 

$2500.00 in a savings account. Petitioner's second poverty 

affidavit further indicates he has no dependents. The record 

reveals no exceptional circumstances 

influence this court to exercise its 

petitioner IFP status on appeal. 

which might otherwise 

discretion and grant 

A person should not be denied the opportunity to proceed 

under 28 U.S . C. § 1915(a) simply because he or she is not "absolutely destitute." Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 

U. S. 331, 339-40 (1948). We have required prisoners with 

resources more limited than petitioner's to utilize funds in 

prison accounts to initiate litigation. Shimabuku v. Britton, 357 

F. Supp. 825, 826 (D. Kan. 1973), aff'd, 503 F.2d 38 (10th Cir. 

1974). Petitioner had the financial ability to pay the costs and 

-2-

Appellate Case: 91-6136 Document: 010110200894 Date Filed: 04/13/1993 Page: 2 
fees for this appeal. His funds will not be significantly 

depleted by assuming that expense. 

The district court's denial of IFP status on appeal is supported by the law and was not an abuse of discretion. Petitioner's motion for leave to proceed on appeal without prepayment of 

costs or fees is DENIED. The government's motion to supplement 

the record is denied as moot . 

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Entered for the Court 

James K. Logan 

Circuit Judge 

Appellate Case: 91-6136 Document: 010110200894 Date Filed: 04/13/1993 Page: 3 
Appellate Case: 91-6136 Document: 010110200894 Date Filed: 04/13/1993 Page: 4