Djibril H. Samassa v. Anthony Alexander

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee dismissed Djibril H. Samassa’s 28 U.S.C. § 2241 petition without prejudice for failure to prosecute and failure to comply with an order requiring payment of the habeas filing fee. The court denied a certificate of appealability and denied leave to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal, certifying that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.

Holdings

1. A § 2241 petition may be dismissed without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) when the petitioner fails to comply with a court order requiring payment of the habeas filing fee after receiving notice that noncompliance would result in dismissal.
2. A certificate of appealability should be denied because reasonable jurists would not debate either the validity of the asserted constitutional claim or the correctness of the procedural dismissal.
3. Leave to appeal in forma pauperis must be denied and the appeal certified as not taken in good faith when the petitioner has not shown a nonfrivolous basis for appellate review of the dismissal.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the court should dismiss the § 2241 petition without prejudice for failure to prosecute and failure to comply with the court's fee order.
2. Whether Samassa was entitled to a certificate of appealability after the petition was dismissed on procedural grounds.
3. Whether Samassa should be permitted to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal.

Disposition

dismissed