Opinion
Docket No. 149532. COA No. 319423.
2014-08-13
Randall A. RAAR, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. KINROSS CORRECTIONAL FACILITY WARDEN, Defendant–Appellee.
Prior report: ––– Mich. ––––, 849 N.W.2d 30.
Order
On order of the Chief Justice, the motion for reconsideration is DENIED. The holding in Smith v. Bennett, 365 U.S. 708, 710, 81 S.Ct. 895, 6 L.Ed.2d 39 (1961), was based in part on the U.S. Supreme Court's earlier decision in Burns v. Ohio, 360 U.S. 252, 253, 79 S.Ct. 1164, 3 L.Ed.2d 1209 (1959), which held that a state cannot “constitutionally require that an indigent defendant in a criminal case pay a filing fee before permitting him to file a motion for leave to appeal in one of its courts.” [Emphasis added.] Although Smith v. Bennett precludes a court from refusing to docket and decide a habeas corpus action because of the inability to pay the filing fee, nothing in the decision mandates that there be a complete waiver of court fees. Accordingly, the Clerk shall retain plaintiff's pleadings for an additional 21 days to allow plaintiff to comply with the Court's July 23, 2014 order.