Archer v. Little

District Court, D. South Dakota·Decided May 16, 2023·No. 5:23-cv-05002·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF SOUTH DAKOTA WESTERN DIVISION

SHANE E. ARCHER, 5:23-CV-05002-RAL Plaintiff, OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING Vs. PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS AND § TAVIS LITTLE, CHIEF LAWRENCE 1915A SCREENING COUNTY JAIL, INDIVIDUAL AND OFFICIAL CAPACITY; AMBER RICHIE, DIRECTOR LAWRENCE COUNTY PUBLIC DEF OFFICE, INDIVIDUAL AND OFFICIAL CAPACITY; JAIL STAFF, GUARDS LAWRENCE COUNTY JAIL, INDIVIDUAL AND OFFICIAL CAPACITY; BRUCE BOURE, ATTORNEY AT LAW, INDIVIDUAL AND OFFICIAL CAPACITY; MOLLY, PARALEGAL/INVESTIGATOR FOR PUBLIC DEFENDERS OFFICE, INDIVIDUAL AND OFFICIAL CAPACITY; STAFF, MAIL ROOM STAFF, CLERK’S OFFICE, INDIVIDUAL AND OFFICIAL CAPACITIES; AGENT D. ROSE, AGENT DCI, INDIVIDUAL AND OFFICIAL CAPACITY; JOHN FITZGERALD, STATES ATTORNEY, INDIVIDUAL AND OFFICIAL . CAPACITY; TIM BANUARD, ATTORNEY, INDIVIDUAL AND OFFICIAL CAPACITY; AUTHORITIES, BUTTE COUNTY AUTHORITIES, INDIVIDUAL AND OFFICIAL CAPACITIES, Defendants.

Plaintiff Shane E. Archer, an inmate at the Lawrence County Jail, filed a pro se civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Doc. 1. Archer moves for leave to proceed in forma

pauperis and has filed a prisoner trust account report. Docs. 2,3. Archer also moves for appointment of counsel. Doc. 5. I. Motion for Leave to Proceed in Forma Pauperis □ Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, a prisoner who “brings a civil action or files an appeal in forma pauperis . . . shall be required to pay the full amount of a filing fee.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1).. The Court may, however, accept partial payment of the initial filing fee where appropriate. Therefore, “[w]hen an inmate seeks pauper status, the only issue is whether the inmate pays the entire fee at the initiation of the proceeding or over a period of time under an installment plan.” Henderson v. Norris, 129 F.3d 481, 483 (8th Cir. 1997) (per curiam) (alteration in original) (quoting McGore v. Wrigglesworth, 114 F.3d 601, 604 (6th Cir. 1997)). The initial partial filing fee that accompanies an installment plan is calculated according to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1), which requires a payment of 20 percent of the greater of: (A) the average monthly deposits to the prisoner’s account; or (B) the average monthly balance in the prisoner’s account for the 6-month period immediately preceding the filing of the complaint or notice of appeal. Archer reports an average monthly balance for the past six months in his prisoner trust

account of $10.00 and an average monthly deposit of $10.00. Doc. 3 at 1. Based on the information regarding Archer’s prisoner trust account, this Court grants Archer leave to proceed in forma pauperis ad waives the initial partial filing fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(4) (“In no event shall a prisoner be prohibited from bringing a civil action . . . for the reason that the prisoner has no assets and no means by which to pay the initial partial filing fee.”). In order to pay his filing fee, Archer must “make monthly payments of 20 percent of the preceding month’s income credited to the prisoner’s account.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). The statute

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places the. burden on the prisoner’s institution to collect the additional monthly payments and forward them to the court as follows: After payment of the initial partial filing fee, the prisoner shall be required to make monthly payments of 20 percent of the preceding month’s income credited to the prisoner’s account. The agency having custody of the prisoner shall forward payments from the prisoner’s account to the clerk of the court each time the amount in the account exceeds $10 until the filing fees are paid. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). The installments will be collected pursuant to this procedure. The Clerk of Court will send a copy of this order to the appropriate financial official at Archer’s institution. Archer remains responsible for the entire filing fee, as long as he is a prisoner. See In re Tyler, 110 F.3d 528, 529-30 (8th Cir. 1997). I. 1915A Screening . A. Factual Allegations of Archer’s Complaint Archer claims that Lawrence County Jail staff have prevented him from accessing the courts. Doc. | at 5. He claims that the Lawrence County Jail has no federal law books, no law library, and no law books written more recently than 1998. Id. He alleges that there is no area to study or participate in his legal defense. Id. Archer states that he was not provided a phone book for twenty-four days to hire an attorney and that he was finally offered one from 2016. Id. He | asserts that he was not provided the phone number for the Clerk of Court in Colorado where he had pending criminal charges. Id. Archer alleges that the Chief of the Lawrence County Jail, Tavis Little, and other jail staff lied when they told him that his application for a court-appointed attorney had been faxed to the Butte County Clerk of Court, where he faced additional charges. See id. at 5, 10-11. He claims that Lawrence County Jail staff have prevented him from mailing a petition for writ of habeas corpus to Butte County. Id. at 11. He states that Butte County and Lawrence County officials refused to allow him to be seen in court for his Butte County charges

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