Ewing v. United States

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS ANTOINE L. EWING, ) ) Petitioner, ) ) vs. ) Case No. 17-cv-1286-SMY ) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) ) ) Respondent. MEMORANDUM AND ORDER YANDLE, District Judge: Petitioner Antoine L. Ewing filed a habeas corpus petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 collaterallyattacking his career offender designation and alleging ineffective assistance of counsel (Docs. 1, 2). This Court denied the petition (Doc. 19) and Ewing has appealed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (See Doc. 22). Now pending before the Court is Ewing's Motion for Leave to Appeal in Forma Pauperis (“IFP”) (Doc. 28). A federal court may permit a party to proceed on appeal without full pre-payment of fees provided the party is indigent and the appeal is taken in good faith. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1) & (3); FED.R.APP.P.24(a)(3)(A). An appeal is taken in “good faith” if it seeks review of any issuethat is not clearly frivolous, meaning that a reasonable person could suppose it to have at least some legal merit. Lee v. Clinton, 209 F.3d 1025, 1026 (7th Cir. 2000). Ewing's affidavit in support of his request to proceed IFP on appeal is incomplete. Specifically, he failed to attach a certified statement showing all receipts, expenditures, and balances during the last six months for his institutional accounts. Consequently, the Court is unable to ascertain whether he qualifies for indigent status. Additionally, because Ewingfailed to specify the basis for his appeal in either his IFP motion or his Notice of Appeal, the Court cannot discern the issues he intends to raise on appeal. Accordingly, Petitioner’s Motion for Leave to Appeal in Forma Pauperis is DENIED. He is ADVISED that he has 30 days from service of this Order to file a motion to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal in the Court of Appeals. FED. R. APP. P. 24(a)(5). IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: October 7, 2020

Jott Coole STACI M. YANDLE United States District Judge

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