Opinion ID: 2525206
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: So Ordered.

Text: 9/8/98 /s/ B. Shortell Thus, the previously extended deadline for payment of the filing fees was extended by sixty to ninety additional days, or until between November 9 [3] and December 7, 1998. On November 9, 1998 Superior Court Judge Michael L. Wolverton [4] dismissed Brandon's case, without prejudice, for lack of payment of the filing fee. Brandon moved to reinstate the action on December 1. He argued that he should have been given notice and an opportunity to pay the filing fee. He also pointed out that his motion to waive the filing fee was still pending. On December 28 Judge Wolverton vacated the November 9 order, concluding that it had been entered prematurely based on Judge Shortell's order allowing Brandon sixty to ninety days to pay the fee. Judge Wolverton concluded that Brandon had actually had until December 8 to pay. However, Judge Wolverton went on to conclude that because no filing fee had been paid as of December 28, the case still had to be dismissed, without prejudice, for lack of payment of the filing fee. On January 2, 1999 Brandon filed another letter/motion in which he asked Judge Wolverton to clarify his rulings. Brandon pointed out that the effect of the December 28 order was less than fair because, while it noted that the November order had been prematurely entered, the December order did not give Brandon a chance to pay the fee. Brandon also noted that his motion to waive the filing fee had never been ruled on. In response to Brandon's questions regarding the status of his motion to waive the filing fee, Judge Wolverton issued an order on January 13 in which he concluded that Judge Shortell's ruling on the reduced filing fee was effectively a denial of Brandon's motion to waive the filing fee. Brandon appeals the dismissal of his case for failure to pay the filing fee on three grounds: (1) that the superior court erred by dismissing his case for failure to pay the filing fee; (2) that the superior court improperly denied his motion to waive the filing fee in its entirety; and (3) that the prisoner filing fee statute is unconstitutional.