Opinion
NO. 5:11-CV-327 -CAR -MSH
09-20-2011
CELESTE JANYA MAY, Plaintiff v. LISA INGRAM, et. al., Defendants
ORDER
Plaintiff CELESTE JANYA MAY, a prisoner at the Pulaski State Prison in Hawkinsville, Georgia, filed a pro se civil rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. She also sought leave to proceed without prepayment of the filing fee or security therefor pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). In an Order dated August 23, 2011, the Court granted Plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis. In this same Order, however, the Court ordered Plaintiff to pay an initial partial filing fee of $6.10. Plaintiff was given fourteen (14) days from the date of the August 23, 2011, Order to pay the fee. That time has since passed, and the Court has not yet received her partial payment.
In Wilson v. Sargent, 313 F.3d 1315 (11th Cir. 2002), the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that before dismissing a plaintiff's §1983 complaint for failure to pay an initial partial filing fee, the court must inquire into the reason for the plaintiff's failure to pay. The Court explained that "once the prisoner fails to pay the court-ordered initial partial filing fee, the district court must take reasonable steps to determine whether the prisoner complied with the order by authorizing payment by prison officials." Id. at 1321 (citing Hatchet v. Nettles, 201 F.3d 651 (5th Cir. 2000)).
Therefore, the Court hereby ORDERS Plaintiff to RESPOND and SHOW CAUSE why her lawsuit should not be dismissed for failure to pay the initial partial filing fee. Plaintiff is further ordered to explain what steps she took to comply with the Court's August 23, 2011, Order. Plaintiff's response shall be filed within FOURTEEN (14) days of the date of this Order. If Plaintiff fails to respond, her lawsuit will be subject to immediate dismissal.
In the meantime, there shall be NO SERVICE of process upon any Defendant.
SO ORDERED, this 20th day of September, 2011.
STEPHEN HYLES
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE