Opinion ID: 734158
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Appeals By Prisoners

Text: 23 The enactment of the Prison Litigation Reform Act has also affected the appeal process. If a prisoner wishes to appeal an order or a judgment of the district court, the prisoner must file a notice of appeal. A prisoner not seeking pauper status, must pay the entire filing fee with the clerk of the district court upon filing the notice of appeal. Fed. R.App. P. 3(e). If such a prisoner fails to pay the required fees with the notice of appeal, the district court shall inform the prisoner of the deficiency. The prisoner shall be warned that should he or she not pay the entire filing fee within thirty (30) days of the filing of the district court's deficiency order, or take the required steps to seek pauper status on appeal, the court of appeals may dismiss the appeal for failure to prosecute under Fed. R. App. P. 3(a) and the district court will assess the entire filing fee. If dismissed, the appeal will not be reinstated despite the subsequent payment of the filing fee or request for pauper status. 24 The district court's deficiency order shall be sent to the clerk of this court. Fed. R.App. P. 3(d). The prisoner may request from the district court an extension of time to pay the filing fee or to seek pauper status. The motion must be filed within thirty (30) days of the district court's deficiency order, or the extension motion will not be granted unless the prisoner makes an affirmative showing that he or she did not receive the deficiency order within the thirty (30) days. If such a showing is made in a notarized statement or a declaration complying with 28 U.S.C. § 1746 and setting forth the date the prisoner received the notice, then the district court may, in its discretion, grant an additional thirty (30) day extension to allow the prisoner to rectify the deficiency. The extension motion will be deemed filed once the motion is given to prison authorities for mailing and the prisoner has satisfied the verification requirements of Fed. R.App. P. 25(a)(2)(C). See also Houston, 487 U.S. at 270, 108 S.Ct. at 2382. The clerk of the court of appeals shall continue to monitor the fee status of each appeal. Should the prisoner fail to comply with the district court's deficiency order, the clerk of the court of appeals shall dismiss the case for want of prosecution and the district court will assess the entire filing fee, which is to be made payable to the clerk of the district court. Once dismissed under these circumstances, the appeal will not be reinstated even if the filing fee is subsequently paid.
25 If a prisoner wishes to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal, the prisoner must file in the district court, with the notice of appeal, a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis, a certified copy of a prison trust account statement, and Form 4 from the Appendix of Forms found in the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, or an affidavit which contains the same detailed information found in Form 4. Unlike the former concept of pauper status, an individual or prisoner granted pauper status before the district court is not automatically entitled to pauper status on appeal. See Floyd, 105 F.3d at 277-79; Jackson v. Stinnett, 102 F.3d 132, 134-36 (5th Cir.1996) (noting that Prison Litigation Reform Act has superseded parts of Fed. R.App. P. 24(a)). The statute requires that a prisoner seeking pauper status on appeal must file an affidavit of indigency and a certified copy of the prison trust account statement. 28 U.S.C.A. §§ 1915(a)(2), 1915(b)(1).
26 Should the prisoner fail to file the affidavit of indigency or the trust account statement, the district court shall notify the prisoner of the deficiency. The district court shall inform the prisoner that should the prisoner not file the required documents within thirty (30) days, the court of appeals may dismiss the appeal for want of prosecution under Fed. R.App. P. 3(a) and in which case the district court will assess the entire filing fee. If dismissed under these circumstances, the appeal will not be reinstated despite the payment of the full filing fee or subsequent correction of the deficiency. 27 The prisoner may request from the district court an extension of time to pay the filing fee or seek pauper status. The motion must be filed within thirty (30) days of the district court's deficiency order or the extension motion will not be granted unless the prisoner makes an affirmative showing that he or she did not receive the deficiency order within the thirty (30) days. If such a showing sets forth the date the prisoner received the deficiency order and is made in a notarized statement or a declaration complying with 28 U.S.C. § 1746, then the district court may, in its discretion, grant an additional thirty (30) days from the date of the filing of the extension order to allow the prisoner to correct the deficiency. The extension motion will be deemed filed once the motion is given to the prison authorities for mailing and the prisoner has satisfied the verification requirements of Fed. R.App. P. 25(a)(2)(C). See also Houston, 487 U.S. at 270, 108 S.Ct. at 2382. The clerk of the court of appeals shall continue to monitor the fee status of each appeal. Should the prisoner fail to comply with the district court's deficiency order, the clerk of the court of appeals shall dismiss the case for want of prosecution and the district court will assess the entire filing fee, which is to be made payable to the clerk of the district court. Once dismissed under these procedures, the appeal will not be reinstated despite the payment of the full filing fee or subsequent correction of the deficiency. 28
29 The statute states that a district court must determine in writing whether a request to appeal in forma pauperis is taken in good faith. 28 U.S.C.A. § 1915(a)(3); see also Floyd, 105 F.3d at 277. In cases brought by prisoners, such a certification is not required. Section 1915(a)(3) is modified by the provisions of § 1915(b)(1) (the section begins [n]otwithstanding subsection (a)). See also 28 U.S.C.A. § 1915(a)(1) ([s]ubject to subsection (b)). For a prisoner, the question of whether the appeal is taken in good faith is irrelevant. Under § 1915(b)(1), the prisoner must pay the required filing fees regardless of the merits of the appeal. Therefore, in prisoner cases, district courts are not required to make a good faith certification under § 1915(a)(3). 30 The statute, however, creates a different procedure for non-prisoners. The statute states that [a]n appeal may not be taken in forma pauperis if the trial court certifies in writing that the appeal is not taken in good faith. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3). Courts are required to give plain meaning to the language of the statute. United States v. Alvarez-Sanchez, 511 U.S. 350, 356, 114 S.Ct. 1599, 1603, 128 L.Ed.2d 319 (1994). Thus, if the district court concludes that the appeal is not taken in good faith, the individual must pay the entire filing fee and may not proceed on appeal as a pauper. Floyd, 105 F.3d at 277-79. 31 There is a conflict between the statute and Fed. R.App. P. 24(a). Id. at 105 F.3d at 277-78. Rule 24(a) provides in part: 32 If a motion for leave to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis is denied by the district court, or if the district court shall certify that the appeal is not taken in good faith or shall find that the party is otherwise not entitled to proceed in forma pauperis, the clerk shall forthwith serve notice of such action. A motion for leave so to proceed may be filed in the court of appeals within 30 days after service of notice of the action of the district court. The motion shall be accompanied by a copy of the affidavit filed in the district court, or by the affidavit prescribed by the first paragraph of this subdivision if no affidavit has been filed in the district court, and by a copy of the statement of reasons given by the district court for its action. 33 Under § 1915(a)(3), once the district court certifies that an appeal is not taken in good faith, the non-prisoner cannot seek an appeal in forma pauperis. Furthermore, the non-prisoner cannot seek an assessment under § 1915(b)(1) as this section is strictly limited to prisoners. As § 1915(a)(3), which does not permit an appeal to proceed in forma pauperis if the appeal is not taken in good faith, conflicts with Rule 24(a), the statute supersedes the rule and, therefore, the statute controls. Floyd, 105 F.3d at 277-78; Jackson, 102 F.3d at 136. 34
35 The statute permits any United States court to make the financial assessment for the commencement of an appeal. See 28 U.S.C.A. § 1915(a)(1). As the district court is best suited to control the assessment process, the district court should conduct the financial assessment when the prisoner seeks pauper status on appeal. 36 Because the date the notice of appeal is filed with the district court controls the date of assessment under § 1915(b)(1); expediency requires that the district court issue the order. If the financial assessment order was delayed until the case was transferred and docketed with the court of appeals, several weeks could pass before the court of appeals could order the financial assessment. This lapse of time would allow prisoners to drain their trust accounts to avoid payment of their filing fees. 37 In issuing the assessment order, the district court may use the same order form which is located in Section III if the prisoner does not have sufficient funds to pay the full fees. However, the current docketing and filing fees for the court of appeals total one hundred and five dollars ($105), rather than the one hundred and fifty dollars ($150) required to file a case in the district court. Under this order and our decision in Floyd, motions for pauper status before the court of the appeals no longer exist and will not be entertained by this court. These motions shall now be processed exclusively by the district courts. This order does not, however, impair an individual's ability to request records, transcripts, or counsel before this court under § 1915(c) and § 1915(e)(1). 38 After the district court advises the court of appeals that the initial partial filing fee under § 1915(b)(1) has been assessed, the appeal may continue. If the district court concludes that the prisoner satisfies § 1915(b)(4), the prisoner may proceed with the appeal without immediate payment of the initial partial filing fee. However, the statute does not relieve the prisoner from paying the required fees when funds become available in the future. Thus, the district court still must impose a fee assessment under § 1915(b)(1), and the prisoner, when he or she receives funds, must still pay the initial partial filing fee, even if the trust account contains less than ten dollars ($10). An appeal may not be dismissed when the payment of an assessment has been delayed by prison officials. A prisoner cannot be penalized when prison officials fail to promptly pay an assessment.