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

Heading: Prisoners Are Required To Pay a Filing Fee When Commencing Litigation Against the State of Alaska.

Text: Commencing a civil action requires the filing of a complaint with the court. [6] A fee schedule for filing has been established for the Alaska Court System. [7] Payment of the filing fee is required before any civil action or proceeding is accepted for filing. [8] However, a filing fee is not required of any person determined to be indigent under Administrative Rule 10. [9] In order to avoid payment of a filing fee based on a determination of indigency, the person requesting an exemption must file an indigency statement on a court form. [10] But the indigency exemption is not applicable where the person is a prisoner commencing litigation against the State of Alaska. [11] A prisoner may not commence litigation against the state [12] unless he or she has paid full filing fees to the court ... except that the court may exempt a prisoner from paying part of those fees if the court finds exceptional circumstances. [13] A prisoner seeking the filing fee exemption must submit documents to the court regarding his or her financial situation. [14] Based on that information, the court determines whether the requisite exceptional circumstances exist that prevent the prisoner from paying full filing fees. [15] If a prisoner has income or other resources available that can be applied to the filing fee, then imprisonment and indigency do not constitute exceptional circumstances. [16] The court sets the amount of the exemption based on the average balance of the prisoner's correctional facility account. [17] Indeed, even though the prefatory language to the statute speaks of the court's power only to exempt a prisoner from paying part of [the] fees, [18] the statute actually allows exemption from paying any fee if the prisoner's account is small enough. [19] The court order setting out the filing fee must provide notice that the action will not be accepted for filing if the filing fee is not paid within thirty days, or the time set by the court. [20] The prisoner's filing and supporting documents may not be accepted by the court until the fee is paid. [21] As a prisoner commencing civil litigation against the State of Alaska, Brandon was required to follow the statutory provisions for filing fees for prisoner litigation against the state.