Order Form (01/2005)

United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois

Name of Assigned Judge

or Magistrate Judge Marvin Aspen Sitting Judge if Otherthan Assigned Judge

CASE NUMBER 12 C 2456 DATE 11/6/2012

CASE

TITLE

Ronald Williams vs. Evanston Police Department

DOCKET ENTRY TEXT

We conclude that the appeal is not taken in good faith and deny Williams-EL’s motion (9) for leave to appeal

in forma pauperis. It is so ordered

O[ For further details see text below.] Docketing to mail notices.

STATEMENT

(Reserved for use by the Court)

ORDER

On August 29, 2012, Ronald Williams-EL filed a Notice of Appeal in Case No. 12 C 2456, seeking review of

our May 22, 2012 order. In that order, (Dkt. No. 7), we granted Williams-EL in forma pauperis status but

nonetheless dismissed his rambling complaint against the Evanston Police Department, Connections for the

Homeless, and the Chicago Police Department, as frivolous. We held that Williams-EL failed to articulate

claims against the defendants or otherwise plead coherent facts stating a plausible claim for relief. We

further noted that Williams-EL has a history of filing such actions, including a prior case involving similar

actors that we dismissed last year, Williams v. City of Chicago, et al., No. 10 C 7733. Williams-EL’s Notice

of Appeal, (Dkt. No. 8), includes a six-page, single-spaced, disjointed narrative, reiterating his allegations

and requesting investigation into his claims. On September 19, 2012, Williams-EL also submitted additional

materials, seeking an extension of time, requesting assignment to another judge, and identifying concerns

with procedures in the clerk’s office. (Dkt. No. 14.) Presently before us is Williams-EL’s application to

proceed in forma pauperis on appeal. 

We previously granted Williams-EL in forma pauperis status in the district-court action. (Dkt. No. 7.) As a

result, Williams-EL is eligible “to proceed in forma pauperis without further authorization,” unless we certify

that he is no longer qualified or that his “appeal is not taken in good faith.” Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(3). In

reviewing his application, we consider his financial affidavit, (Dkt. No. 9), which contains the same

information as his prior April 3, 2012 application. Although Williams-EL completed the district court’s

financial affidavit form, rather than the Seventh Circuit’s more detailed form, we elect not to hold this

mistake against him. The information before us readily establishes that Williams-EL continues to qualify as

indigent.

We conclude, however, that his “appeal is not taken in good faith.” Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(3)(A). Good faith

“is not about the plaintiff’s sincerity in requesting appellate review,” but requires an appeal that “objectively

12C2456 Ronald Williams vs. Evanston Police Department Page 1 of 2
STATEMENT

considered, raises non-frivolous colorable issues.” Snow v. Orange Crush Tactical Team, No. 05 C 1118,

2007 WL 625575, at *1 (C.D. Ill. Feb. 23, 2007). As the Seventh Circuit explained in Lee v. Clinton, bad

faith “means merely to sue on the basis of a frivolous claim, which is to say a claim that no reasonable person

could suppose to have any merit.” 209 F.3d 1025, 1026 (7th Cir. 2000); see also Pate v. Stevens, 163 F.3d

437, 439 (7th Cir. 1998). In evaluating Williams-EL’s request, we consider his Notice of Appeal and

September 19, 2012 supplemental filing, both of which set forth Williams-EL’s position and theories. See

Celske v. Edwards, 164 F.3d 396, 398 (7th Cir. 1999). Given these materials, we see no need to seek any

further “statement of his grounds for appealing,” as otherwise required by Celske. Id. Having reviewed all

of Williams-EL’s materials, we find that Williams-EL’s appeal—like his complaint—is meritless and

frivolous and does not deserve encouragement to proceed further. Accordingly, we conclude that the appeal

is not taken in good faith and deny Williams-EL’s motion for leave to appeal in forma pauperis. It is so

ordered.

12C2456 Ronald Williams vs. Evanston Police Department Page 2 of 2