TAYLOR v. MARION COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

• Court: District Court, S.D. Indiana
• Decided: February 11, 2025
• Docket: 1:25-cv-00093
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA INDIANAPOLIS DIVISION

EZEKIEL I. TAYLOR, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) No. 1:25-cv-00093-JPH-MKK ) MARION COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, ) TRIVETT Sgt., ) P. SINGH, ) UNKNOWN OFFICER, ) UNKNOWN OFFICER (2), ) UNKNOWN OFFICER (3), ) ) Defendants. )

ORDER DIRECTING PLAINTIFF'S CUSTODIAN TO FORWARD CERTIFIED COPY OF PLAINTIFF'S SIX-MONTH TRUST ACCOUNT STATEMENT

This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff Ezekiel Taylor’s motion for court assistance. Dkt. 9. Plaintiff is incarcerated at the Marion County Jail. The Court notified Mr. Taylor that he must either pay the $405.00 filing fee in this matter or file a motion to proceed in forma pauperis and include a copy of the transactions associated with his institution trust account for the six-month period preceding the filing of this action. Dkt. 5. Mr. Taylor thereafter filed his motion for court assistance, stating that he is being denied a copy of his trust account transactions history. Dkt. 9. When faced with a similar situation, the Seventh Circuit held that the district court should evaluate the veracity or significance of the plaintiff's statement that prison officials refuse to provide the required document and order the prison to provide the trust account statement. Bell v. Kay, 847 F.3d 866, 867 (7th Cir. 2017) (vacating dismissal of prisoner's case due to the district court's failure to assess the truthfulness of plaintiff's assertion that prison officials refused to provide the account ledger to him and the district

court's failure to order prison officials to provide the ledger); Goodwill v. Hoffman, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8442 (E.D. Wis. Jan. 17, 2019) (ordering non- party detention center to forward certified copy of plaintiff's six-month trust account statement). The Court has no reason to doubt the veracity of Mr. Taylor's statements. The Court further finds that providing Mr. Taylor with additional time to continue to request a copy of his trust account statement would be fruitless. His motion, dkt. [9], is granted.

Accordingly, the Court hereby ORDERS Sheriff Kerry Forestal or his designee at the Marion County Jail to provide the Court with a certified copy of Mr. Taylor's trust account statement for the six-month period preceding the filing of this action on January 15, 2025, and to do so no later than March 10, 2025. The trust account statement should be submitted to the Clerk of the Court and should reference case number No. 1:25-cv-00093-JPH-MKK. Additionally, Mr. Taylor states that he needs a blank copy of the in forma pauperis form in order to properly file his motion. Dkt. 7. The Court already

provided a blank form to Mr. Taylor on January 17, 2025. See dkt. 5. The clerk is directed to include a copy of the in forma pauperis form with Mr. Taylor's copy of this Order. SO ORDERED. Date: 2/11/2025 Pas + James Patrick Hanlon United States District Judge Southern District of Indiana Distribution: EZEKIEL I. TAYLOR 653707, 2426347 MARION COUNTY JAIL MARION COUNTY JAIL ADC Mail Room 695 Justice Way Indianapolis, IN 46203 Sheriff Kerry Forestal or his designee — STAFF Marion County Jail 695 Justice Way Indianapolis, IN 46203