Johnson v. McQuistion

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF SOUTH DAKOTA SOUTHERN DIVISION

CHARLES RAY JOHNSON, 4:18-CV-04164-RAL Plaintiff, vs. ORDER JOHN MCQUISTION, PAROLE OFFICER; :

Defendant.

On June 3, 2019, Plaintiff Charles Ray Johnson filed a Notice of Appeal. Doc. 10. Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), a prisoner who “files an appeal . . . [is] required to pay the full amount of a filing fee.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). This obligation arises “ ‘the moment the □ prisoner... files an appeal.’ ” Henderson, 129 F.3d at 483 (quoting In re Tyler, 110 F.3d 528, 529-30 (8th Cir. 1997)). Therefore, “ ‘[w]hen an inmate seeks pauper status, the only issue is whether the inmate pays the entire fee at the initiation of the proceedings or over a period of time under an installment plan.’ ” Jd. (quoting McGore v. Wrigglesworth, 114 F.3d 601, 604 (6th Cir. 1997)). “[P]risoners who appeal judgments in civil cases must sooner or later pay the appellate filing fees in full.” Jd. (citing Newlin v. Helman, 123 F.3d 429, 432 (7th Cir. 1997). Henderson sets forth the procedures to be used to assess, calculate, and collect appellate filing fees in compliance with the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PLRA). Id. at 483. Plaintiff has not filed the requisite paperwork to proceed in forma pauperis or paid the appellate filing fee. “If the district court does not receive a certified copy of the prisoner’s prison account within 30 days of the notice of appeal, it shall calculate the initial appellate filing fee at $35 □□

such other reasonable amount warranted by available information[.]” Jd. at 485 (emphasis added). An initial partial filing fee of $35 is reasonable. Accordingly, it is ORDERED that Plaintiff is granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal. It is

further ORDERED that Plaintiff must pay an initial partial filing fee of $35 by July 26, 2019, made

payable to the Clerk, U.S. District Court. It is further ORDERED that the institution having custody of the Plaintiff is hereby directed that

whenever the amount in Plaintiff’s trust account exceeds $10.00, monthly payments that equal 20

percent of the funds credited the preceding month to the Plaintiff's trust account shall be forwarded

to the U.S. District Court Clerk’s Office pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2), until the $505

appellate filing fee is paid in full. DATED June 28, 2019. BY THE COURT:

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE