McCormack v. Florida Department of Corrections

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

Case No. 21-cv-60555-BLOOM

ORLAND McCORMACK,

Petitioner,

v.

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,

Respondent. / ORDER ON MOTION TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS

THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon Petitioner Orland McCormack’s Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs, ECF No. [28] (“Application”), filed on May 4, 2023. Given that McCormack has filed a Notice of Appeal, ECF No. [22], the Court construes Plaintiff’s Application to be a motion to appeal in forma pauperis. Rule 24 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure provides that a party to a district court action who desires to appeal in forma pauperis must file a motion in the district court which: (A) shows in the detail prescribed by Form 4 of the Appendix of Forms the party's inability to pay or to give security for fees and costs;

(B) claims an entitlement to redress; and

(C) states the issues that the party intends to present on appeal.

Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(1). Form 4 of the Appendix of Forms requires a prisoner to attach a certified prison trust account statement showing all receipts, expenditures, and balances during the last six months. See also 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2) (“A prisoner seeking to . . . appeal a judgment in a civil action or proceeding without prepayment of fees . . . shall submit a certified copy of the trust fund account statement (or institutional equivalent) for the prisoner for the 6-month period immediately Case No. 21-cv-60555-BLOOM

preceding the filing of the complaint or notice of appeal, obtained from the appropriate official of each prison at which the prisoner is or was confined.”). McCormack’s Application is deficient because it lacks a 6-month inmate trust account statement. Therefore, the Application must be denied. See, e.g., Johnson v. Cooke, No. 15-cv- 21790, 2021 WL 3539550 (S.D. Fla. July 13, 2021) (denying without prejudice a motion to appeal in forma pauperis that lacked an inmate account statement). Accordingly, it is ORDERED AND ADJDUGED as follows: 1. MecCormack’s Application, ECF No. [28], is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. 2. Onor before June 8, 2023, McCormack may renew his Application to appeal in forma pauperis. A renewed application must contain a copy of McCormack’s six-month trust account statement. DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at Miami, Florida, on May 8, 2023.

BETH BLOOM UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Copies to: Counsel of Record Orland McCormack, Pro Se #147407 Madison Correctional Institution Inmate Mail/Parcels 382 SW MCI Way Madison, FL 32340