PETERSON v. DAHL

JOHN SEDWICK, District Judge

Arthur Peterson, representing himself, has filed a notice of appeal, with an application to proceed without prepayment of fees on appeal, which was denied with leave to amend. Unlike his other case on appeal, in this case Mr. Peterson paid his filing fee, and thus, does not come under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 24(a)(3), in which a party is allowed to continue without prepayment of fees on appeal.

However, Mr. Peterson has informed the Court that he has not received the financial information, required for the Court under 28 U.S.C. § 1915, from his prison officials, and that his prison account remains as it was when he filed his case. Thus, the Court will grant Mr. Peterson's application, and the prison officials may do the calculations.

As he is aware, Mr. Peterson must pay the full $255.00 filing fee. An initial partial filing fee, to be deducted from his prison trust account, must be paid as soon as funds are available. Mr. Peterson will then owe monthly payments in the amount of twenty percent of the past month's income from his trust account each time the amount in his account exceeds $10.00, until the statutory filing fee of $255.00 is paid in full. Responsibility for collecting these fees and submitting them to the Court lies with the agency that has custody of the prisoner.

Whether or not the prisoner has paid all or a portion of the filing fee, the appeal will be dismissed if the prisoner's "allegation of poverty is untrue . . . or the . . . appeal . . . is frivolous or malicious." When an appeal is dismissed, the Court keeps the $255.00 filing fee to cover the costs of processing the case. No part of the fee will be returned to Mr. Peterson; instead, the Court continues to collect the fee until it is paid in full.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. Mr. Peterson will be permitted to proceed without prepayment of the filing fee on appeal;

2. Mr. Peterson's application for an extension of time, at docket number 14, is DENIED as moot;

3. Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center (YKCC) (or any other institution with custody of Mr. Peterson) shall collect from Mr. Peterson's prison trust account an initial partial filing fee, which shall be the greater of 20% of (1) the average monthly deposits, or (2) the average monthly balance, in Mr. Peterson's prison trust account, over the six months before he filed his appeal (May 3, 2005).

4. YKCC (or any other institution with custody of Mr. Peterson) shall collect the balance of the $255.00 filing fee owed in this case by collecting monthly payments from Mr. Peterson's prison trust account in an amount equal to twenty percent (20%) of the past month's income credited to his trust account and send payments to the Clerk of Court each time the amount in the account exceeds $10.00. ALL PAYMENTS SHALL BE CLEARLY IDENTIFIED BY THE NAME AND NUMBER ASSIGNED TO THIS ACTION;

5. The Clerk of Court is directed to serve a copy of this Order on YKCC;

6. The Clerk of Court is directed to provide a copy of this Order to the Financial Section of the Court; and

7. YKCC shall forward a copy of this Order to any other institution which receives custody of Mr. Peterson.