Opinion
Case No. 1:15-cv-00471-TWP-MJD
10-02-2015
JASON TYE MYERS, Plaintiff, v. INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION, et al., Defendants.
Entry Discussing Request to Proceed on Appeal In Forma Pauperis
The plaintiff seeks leave to proceed on appeal without prepayment of the appellate fees of $505.00. An appeal may not be taken in forma pauperis if the trial court certifies that the appeal is not taken in good faith. 28 U.S.C. § 1915; see Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438 (1962). "Good faith" within the meaning of § 1915 must be judged by an objective, not a subjective, standard. See id. In this case, there is no objectively reasonable argument which the plaintiff has presented or could present, to argue that the disposition of this action and the post-judgment motions were erroneous. In pursuing an appeal, therefore, the plaintiff "is acting in bad faith . . . [because] to sue in bad faith means merely to sue on the basis of a frivolous claim, which is to say a claim that no reasonable person could suppose to have any merit." Lee v. Clinton, 209 F.3d 1025, 1026 (7th Cir. 2000). Accordingly, plaintiff's appeal is not taken in good faith, and for this reason his request for leave to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis [dkt. 26] must be denied.
IT IS SO ORDERED. Date: 10/2/2015
/s/_________
TANYA WALTON PRATT, JUDGE
United States District Court
Southern District of Indiana
Distribution: JASON T. MYERS 154417
PLAINFIELD CORRECTION FACILITY
Inmate Mail/Parcels
727 Moon Road
Plainfield, IN 46168