Collins v. State of Wisconsin

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedOctober 29, 2020
Docket2:20-cv-00521
StatusUnknown

This text of Collins v. State of Wisconsin (Collins v. State of Wisconsin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Collins v. State of Wisconsin, (E.D. Wis. 2020).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

RAYMOND COLLINS,

Plaintiff, Case No. 20-cv-521-pp v.

STATE OF WISCONSIN, J.B. VAN HOLLEN,1 DONALD R. SCHNEIDER, WARDEN WILLIAM POLLARD, WARDEN DYLON RADTKE,2 KEVIN CARR, STEPHANIE HOVE, ANDREA TYLOR CORNWELL, KATIE YORK, KELLI S. THOMPSON, STEVEN SCHUELER, J. TATE, D. LACOSTI, S. JANDRIN, B. GRANGER, M. WASIELEWSKI, C. CLEARY, M. TALLIER, and M. WOLF,

Defendants.

1 In his original complaint, which the plaintiff states in his amended complaint he is incorporating by reference, the plaintiff identifies defendant Van Hollen as the Wisconsin Attorney General. Dkt. No. 1 at 2. Van Hollen is no longer the Attorney General of Wisconsin; since January 2019, the Wisconsin Attorney General has been Josh Kaul. https://www.doj.state.wi.us/professional- profiles. The plaintiff does not list J.B. Van Hollen as a defendant in his amended complaint.

2 Also in his original complaint, in the section identifying parties, the plaintiff identifies “Warden Dylon Radtke or Warden William Pollard for G.B.C.I.” Dkt. No. 1 at 2. Radtke is the warden of Green Bay Correctional Institution. https://doc.wi.gov/Pages/OffenderInformation/AdultInstitutions/GreenBayCo rrectionalInstitution.aspx. William Pollard was the warden of Dodge Correctional Institution before his retirement. https://www.jsonline.com/ story/news/politics/2020/03/11/lincoln-hills-prison-get-new-leader-amid- shuffling-wardens/5020355002/. The plaintiff does not list William Pollard as a defendant in his amended complaint. ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO PROCEED WITHOUT PREPAYING FILING FEE (DKT. NO. 2), DENYING MOTION FOR ORDER FOR BOND (DKT. NO. 3), DENYING EMERGENCY MOTION FOR SIGNATURE BOND OR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION FOR RELEASE (DKT. NO. 8), DENYING MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (DKT. NO. 10), DENYING EMERGENCY MOTION FOR TEMPORARY RELIEF (DKT. NO. 14), DENYING MOTION FOR ORDER REFUNDING INITIAL PARTIAL FILING FEE (DKT. NO. 16), DENYING MOTION UNDER WIS. STAT. §814.29(1)(b) (DKT. NO. 18), DENYING MOTION FOR INJUNCTION RELIEF FED. RULE 65 CIVIL ACTION (DKT. NO. 20) AND SCREENING AND DISMISSING AMENDED COMPLAINT (DKT. NO. 19)

Plaintiff Raymond Collins, an inmate at the Green Bay Correctional Institution who is representing himself, filed a complaint alleging that the defendants violated his civil rights under 42 U.S.C. §1983 when they revoked his probation without a hearing. Dkt. No. 1. Since filing the complaint, the plaintiff has filed four motions that functionally are motions for temporary restraining orders, asking the court to recognize his false imprisonment and allow his release on signature bond during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dkt. Nos. 3, 8, 14, 26. He also has filed a motion for summary judgment, dkt. no. 10, and a motion for a refund of his initial partial filing fee, dkt. no. 16. On October 26, 2020, the plaintiff filed an amended complaint, dkt. no. 19, a “notice of motion pursuant to Wis. Stat. 814.29(1)(b),” dkt. no. 18, and a request for injunctive relief based on his allegations that the defendants have retaliated against him for filing this lawsuit, dkt. no. 20. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a), the plaintiff may amend his complaint once as a matter of course (without the court’s permission) within twenty-one days of service on the defendants. Because the court must screen the plaintiff’s complaint before it is served on the defendants, and because the court is just now screening the complaint, the plaintiff’s amended complaint is timely and he does not need court permission to file it. This order screens the amended complaint and

dismisses the case for failure to state a claim for which a federal court may grant relief. This order also resolves the outstanding motions, including the motion to proceed without prepaying the filing fee (Dkt. No. 2). I. Motion to Proceed without Prepaying the Filing Fee (Dkt. No. 2), Motion for Refund of Initial Partial Filing Fee (Dkt. No. 16) Notice of Motion Pursuant to Wis. Stat. §814.29(1)(b) (Dkt. No. 18)

The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) applies to this case because the plaintiff was incarcerated when he filed his complaint. 28 U.S.C. §1915. That law allows a court to let an incarcerated plaintiff proceed with his case without prepaying the filing fee if he meets certain conditions. One of those conditions is that the plaintiff must pay an initial partial filing fee. 28 U.S.C. §1915(b). Once the plaintiff pays the initial partial filing fee, the court may allow the plaintiff to pay the balance of the $350 filing fee over time, through deductions from his prisoner account. Id. On May 11, 2020, the court ordered the plaintiff to pay an initial partial filing fee of $28.81 by June 1, 2020. Dkt. No. 13. On May 26, 2020, the court received that fee. On June 2, 2020, however, the plaintiff filed a motion to have the initial partial filing fee refunded. Dkt. No. 16. He stated that despite what his certified trust account statement showed, he did not have any income because he did not have a job and should not be required to pay the initial partial filing fee. Id. at 2. He explained that the $144.07 balance his trust account statement showed was not income, but “the result of [his] family sending [him] a money order for canteen now and then.” Id. A court may waive the initial partial filing fee if a prisoner demonstrates

that he “has no assets and no means by which to pay the initial partial filing fee.” 28 U.S.C. §1915(b)(4). While the plaintiff does not have a job and is not generating his own income, he is receiving money from his family, and this qualifies as an “asset” and “means” to pay under §1915(b)(4). While the plaintiff’s family may have intended him to use the money for canteen items (and while the plaintiff might want to use it for that purpose), the plaintiff chose to file this lawsuit. As explained above, if the plaintiff moves to proceed without prepaying the filing fee, and the court determines the plaintiff has

means, the PLRA does not require him to pay the full filing fee up front. Instead, he can pay the initial partial filing fee and then gradually pay the remainder of the fee over time. Proceeding without prepaying the filing fee does not allow an inmate to proceed without ever paying the filing fee. The court will deny the motion for reimbursement of the filing fee. The plaintiff then filed a “notice of motion pursuant to Wis. Stat. §814.29(1)(b).” Dkt. No. 18. In this motion he explains that he made two

requests to the business office at Green Bay Correctional Institution, where he currently is confined, to pay the remainder of his filing fee out of his release account. Id. at 1; Dkt. No. 18-1 at 2. The business office denied his requests, stating that “release funds are not permitted for use in this manner.” Dkt. No. 18-1 at 1. He asks the court to allow him to proceed without prepaying the filing fee because he now has provided proof that he cannot pay it. Dkt. No. 18 at 1.

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Bluebook (online)
Collins v. State of Wisconsin, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/collins-v-state-of-wisconsin-wied-2020.