ROBERT MILLER, District Judge
Pursuant to Newlin v. Helman, 123 F.3d 429 (7th Cir. 1997), the courts are to monitor prison officials' calculation of installment payments. Therefore, this court has reviewed Mr. Baker's prison trust account ledger from September 10, 2001 to February 8, 2005.
Despite the efforts of the prison, the financial records from June, July, August, and September 2002 could not be recovered due to a defective disk.
Mr. Baker has unpaid filing fees for one case and two appeals.
Case Type Order Date Docket # Balance
1) 3:01-CV-600 District Filing Fee 9/2001, # 4 $ 75.08 2) 3:02-CV-373 Appeal 02-3310 9/2002, # 17 $ 86.59 3) 3:02-CV-373 Appeal 03-3492 12/2003, # 87 $ 86.59 TOTAL $ 248.2628 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2) requires that an inmate pay 20 percent of the preceding month's income credited to the prisoner's account.
This [statutory] language places on the prisoner a responsibility to remit at this rate — no greater, but no less either. A prisoner who fails to ensure that the required sum is remitted in one month must make it up later; the statute does not allow deferral past the time when application of the formula would have produced full payment.Lucien v. DeTella, 141 F.3d 773, 776 (7th Cir. 1998) (emphasis added).
A prisoner who filed one suit remits 20 percent of income to his prison trust account; a suit and an appeal then must commit 40 percent, and so on. Five suits or appeals mean that the prisoner's entire monthly income must be turned over to the court until the fees have been paid. . . .Newlin v. Helman, 123 F.3d 429, 436 (7th Cir. 1997).
The following table shows Mr. Baker's income, for those months during which he received $10.00 or more. It also shows how much he was required to pay toward the filing fee for each case. The case numbers refer to the list above and the cells which contain an "x" either predate the order to pay in that case or postdate when payment in full should have already been made.
Date Income Case 1 Case 2 Case 3
10/01 $ 56.92 $ 11.38 11/01 $ 24.14 $ 4.83 12/01 $ 51.33 $ 10.27 1/02 $ 80.10 $ 16.02 2/02 $ 55.10 $ 11.02 4/02 $ 56.88 $ 11.38 5/02 $ 27.56 $ 5.51 10/02 $ 20.87 $ 4.17 $ 4.17 11/02 $ 62.56 $ 12.51 $ 12.51 12/02 $ 30.16 $ 6.03 $ 6.03 1/03 $ 27.64 $ 5.53 $ 5.53 2/03 $ 21.08 $ 4.22 $ 4.22 3/03 $ 41.80 $ 8.36 $ 8.36 4/03 $ 19.32 $ 3.86 $ 3.86 5/03 $ 58.40 $ 11.68 $ 11.68 6/03 $ 50.84 $ 10.17 $ 10.17 7/03 $ 66.93 $ 13.06 $ 13.39 9/03 $ 65.25 $ 13.05 10/03 $ 40.00 $ 8.00 12/03 $ 12.60 $ 2.52 $ 2.52 2/04 $ 62.25 $ 1.51 $ 12.45 3/04 $ 125.25 $ 25.05 5/04 $ 95.25 $ 19.05 5/04 $ 125.25 $ 25.05 6/04 $ 105.25 $ 20.88
Totals $ 150.00 $ 105.00 $ 105.00
This table demonstrates that Mr. Baker should have already paid these filing fees. This means that Mr. Baker can no longer defer payment of the filing fees that should have been paid ($248.26) and that he must therefore remit 100% of his income until these arrearage amounts have been paid in full. Because Mr. Baker is delinquent in paying these fees and because he may no longer defer their payment, it is no longer relevant whether he receives ten or more dollars in a month: all of Mr. Baker's income must be taken to pay the arrearage amounts.
For the foregoing reasons, the court:
(1) ORDERS the agency having custody of Charles Wesley Baker, #01057-027, to remit all of the money in Mr. Baker's prisoner trust account (not to exceed $248.26) to the clerk of the court in payment of these arrearage amounts;
(2) ORDERS the agency having custody of Charles Wesley Baker to remit 100% of Mr. Baker's future income until it has payed these arrearage amounts totaling $248.26; and
(3) DIRECTS the clerk to mail a copy of this order to the inmate trust account department of the institution or facility where Mr. Baker is currently housed.
SO ORDERED.
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