Summary
This order from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin grants the plaintiff’s motion for leave to proceed on appeal without prepaying the filing fee. The court evaluates the plaintiff’s indigency and good faith under the Prison Litigation Reform Act and Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 24, concluding that the appeal is not frivolous. The court orders the plaintiff to pay an initial partial filing fee of $48.28 by January 3, 2025, with the remaining balance collected through monthly deductions from his prison trust account.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the incarcerated plaintiff was entitled to proceed on appeal without prepaying the appellate filing fee.
- Whether the plaintiff's appeal was taken in good faith rather than being frivolous.
- What initial partial filing fee and installment obligations applied under the Prison Litigation Reform Act.
Holdings
- The plaintiff may proceed on appeal without prepaying the appellate filing fee because he established indigence, had not accrued three strikes, and the appeal was not shown to be taken in bad faith.
- An appeal is taken in good faith when it seeks review of an issue that is not frivolous; the court therefore had no basis to deny the plaintiff's request on bad-faith grounds.
- The plaintiff must pay an initial partial appellate filing fee of $48.28, followed by installment payments toward the remaining $556.72 balance.
Key quotations
“An appeal taken in “good faith” is one that seeks review of any issue that is not frivolous, meaning that it involves “legal points arguable on their merits.””
“The court will grant his motion to proceed on appeal without prepaying the filing fee.”
Factual background
Juan Balderas is incarcerated at Racine Correctional Institution and sought to appeal the dismissal of his civil-rights case. He submitted a motion to proceed on appeal without prepaying the filing fee and a certified prison trust-account statement covering the preceding six months. The court found him indigent, found that he had not accrued three strikes, and found no indication that the appeal was taken in bad faith.
Procedural history
The district court dismissed the case and entered judgment on June 28, 2024. It denied the plaintiff's motion for reconsideration on November 6, 2024, and received his notice of appeal on November 15, 2024. The court granted leave to appeal without prepaying the filing fee, assessed an initial partial fee of $48.28, and ordered collection of the remaining appellate fee under the Prison Litigation Reform Act.