Neal, Jr. v. United States

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

TYREE M. NEAL, JR.,

Petitioner,

v. Civil No. 19-cv-1360-JPG

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Criminal No 14-cr-40076-JPG

Respondent.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER This matter comes before the Court on petitioner Tyree M. Neal, Jr.’s second motion for leave to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis (Doc. 82). Neal’s original pro se motion (Doc. 77) was not signed as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a), but his second motion cures this deficiency. 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). A frivolous appeal cannot be made in good faith. Lee v. Clinton, 209 F.3d 1025, 1026-27 (7th Cir. 2000). The test for determining if an appeal is in good faith or not frivolous is whether any of the legal points are reasonably arguable on their merits. Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989) (citing Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967)); Walker v. O’Brien, 216 F.3d 626, 632 (7th Cir. 2000). The Court is satisfied from Neal’s affidavit that he is indigent. The Court further finds that the appeal is taken in good faith. Accordingly, the Court GRANTS the second motion for leave to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis (Doc. 82) and DENIES as moot the original motion (Doc. 77). The Court DIRECTS the Clerk of Court to send a copy of this order to the Court of Appeals for use in conjunction with Appeal No. 23-1722. IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: May 2, 2023

s/ J. Phil Gilbert J. PHIL GILBERT DISTRICT JUDGE