Opinion ID: 184872
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Liability for Fees

Text: 10 Having concluded that Smith is not entitled to proceed in forma pauperis, we face the question of whether he now becomes liable for the full filing and docketing fees, or whether he need only pay the fees if he seeks to proceed with his appeal. Under the PLRA, a prisoner allowed to proceed in forma pauperis no longer escapes liability for fees. He is simply permitted to pay the fees in installments rather than in a single payment. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b). Smith, however, is not being allowed to proceed in forma pauperis. Thus, he must pay the full fees in advance if he wishes to pursue his appeal. But must he also pay the full fees even if he does not pursue his appeal? 11 Section 1915(b)(1) provides that if a prisoner brings a civil action or files an appeal in forma pauperis, the prisoner shall be required to pay the full amount of a filing fee. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3). Thus the question is whether when a prisoner files a notice of appeal and application to proceed in forma pauperis, and his application is denied, we will treat him as having file[d] an appeal in forma pauperis so that the fee requirement attaches. Id. Although some courts have required prisoners to pay the full filing fee whenever their in forma pauperis application is denied, see Newlin v. Helman, 123 F.3d 429, 434 (7th Cir. 1997); Henderson v. Norris, 129 F.3d 481, 483 (8th Cir. 1997); Leonard v. Lacy, 88 F.3d 181, 184 (2d Cir. 1996), it has not been our practice to do so. For example, in Wooten v. District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department, 129 F.3d 206 (D.C. Cir. 1997), we considered a prisoner's attempt to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal after the District Court had certified that the appeal was not taken in good faith. We agreed that the appeal was not in good faith and therefore that Wooten could not proceed in forma pauperis under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3). But we did not then require him to pay the fees, instead noting that he could choose to pay the $105 fees and pursue his appeal, or that if he did not pay within 14 days, his appeal would be dismissed. Indeed, given what we perceived as the appeal's apparent lack of merit, we suggested that it would be foolish for Wooten to pay the fees and proceed. Wooten, 129 F.3d at 208. See also In re Smith, 114 F.3d 1247 (D.C. Cir. 1997). Similarly, several other circuits appear to follow the practice of denying in forma pauperis status without requiring fee payment. See, e.g., Rodriguez v. Cook, 169 F.3d 1176, 1182 (9th Cir. 1999); Banos v. O'Guin, 144 F.3d 883, 885 (5th Cir. 1998); Keener v. Pennsylvania Bd. of Probation & Parole, 128 F.3d 143, 145 (3d Cir. 1997). 12 In accordance with our past practice, we will not require fee payment here, unless Smith wishes to proceed with his appeal. Section 1915(b)(1) imposes fee liability when a prisoner brings a civil action or files an appeal in forma pauperis. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). This wording differs significantly from that of subsection 1915(a)(2), which requires a prisoner to file an affidavit of poverty and certified copy of his prison trust fund account whenever seeking to bring a civil action or appeal a judgment in a civil action in forma pauperis. Id. § 1915(a)(2) (emphasis added). While Smith is clearly seeking to proceed in forma pauperis, we will not treat him as having filed an appeal in forma pauperis when he has not been granted in forma pauperis status and his appeal has not been considered. 3 For the present purpose, we will deem a prisoner to have file[d] an appeal in forma pauperis as soon as he has both filed a notice of appeal and been granted in forma pauperis status, but not before. 13 Although requiring prisoners denied in forma pauperis status to pay the full fees even though their appeal is not considered would arguably provide an additional deterrent to prisoner filings, our disposition here can hardly be viewed as encouraging prisoner appeals. Unless he pays the required fees, Smith's appeal will be dismissed. In addition, our conclusion that Smith has three strikes will allow summary treatment of any future applications for in forma pauperis status. In our view, requiring prisoners to pay the full fees in such situations would create either administrative difficulty or an incentive for the prisoners to continue to pursue their appeals. If a prisoner did not have sufficient funds to pay the fees, requiring immediate payment in full would result pri-marily in an ongoing collection effort for the office of the clerk of this Court. If, on the other hand, a prisoner was able to pay the fees in full, our requiring him to do so whether or not he proceeded with his appeal would leave him no disincentive to proceeding--if the prisoner would be responsible for the full fees in any case, it would only make sense for him to continue to pursue his appeal. In contrast, by imposing the fees only if a prisoner who has been denied in forma pauperis status proceeds further, our approach should give such a prisoner every incentive to consider carefully whether his appeal warrants further pursuit.