Free Order on Motion for Miscellaneous Relief - District Court of Arizona - Arizona

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SC

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA Gilbert W. Banks, ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) No. CV 02-2142-PHX-JWS (JRI) ORDER

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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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State of Arizona, et al.,
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Defendants.
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Plaintiff Gilbert W. Banks filed this action pro se while he was detained at the Arizona Community Protection and Treatment Center, Phoenix, Arizona, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 with an Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis. The Court granted Plaintiff leave to proceed in forma pauperis and dismissed the complaint with leave to file an amended complaint within 30 days of that Order. (Doc.# 8.)1 After Plaintiff failed to file an amended complaint for well over 30 days, the action was dismissed on May 27, 2003. (Doc.# 9.) On July 24, 2006, Plaintiff filed a "Motion" asking the Court to "send" him all of the documents in the case "for free" because he is on SSI and he "believe[s]" he is unable to afford paying for the documents. (Doc.# 10.) Plaintiff filed numerous original documents in this case; those documents are now part of the Court's case file and cannot be returned. While Plaintiff indicates that he is unable to pay for copies of the documents, his status as a indigent pro se plaintiff does not entitle him to free copies of documents submitted to the

"Doc.#" refers to the docket number of documents filed in this case.
Document 11 Filed 10/04/2006 Page 1 of 2

Case 2:02-cv-02142-JWS--JRI

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Court. "The Supreme Court has declared that `the expenditure of public funds [on behalf of an indigent litigant] is proper only when authorized by Congress . . . .'" Tedder v. Odel, 890 F.2d 210, 211-12 (9th Cir. 1989) (quoting United States v. MacCollom, 426 U.S. 317, 321 (1976). The in forma pauperis statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1915, authorizes the Court to pay for service of process on behalf of an indigent litigant and, in certain cases, to pay the costs of printing the record on appeal and preparing a transcript of proceedings, but the statute does not authorize the Court to pay the costs for an indigent litigant's general copy requests. Cf. Dixon v. Ylst, 990 F.2d 478, 480 (9th Cir. 1993) (§ 1915 does not authorize the district courts to waive payment of fees or expenses for witnesses); Tedder, 890 F.2d at 211-12 (same). The Clerk of Court charges 50 cents per page for reproducing any record or paper. See Judicial Conference Schedule of Fees ¶ 4, foll. 28 U.S.C. § 1914. Accordingly, Plaintiff must submit a written request for copies of documents accompanied by the 50 cents per page copy fee to the Clerk of Court. Plaintiff's motion will be denied. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for copies of documents is denied. (Doc.# 10.) DATED this 3rd day of October 2006.

/s/ JOHN W. SEDWICK UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGE

Case 2:02-cv-02142-JWS--JRI

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