Opinion
No. 3:12-mc-00004
01-18-2012
MICHAEL SHANE REID, Petitioner, v. ROBERT ARNOLD, Sheriff of Rutherford County, Tennessee, Respondent.
Judge
ORDER
Petitioner Michael Shane Reid, proceeding pro se, is a state inmate presently housed at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center. He has submitted a Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus (ECF No. 1), presumably under 28 U.S.C. § 2254.
Rule 11(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires that all pleadings, written motions and any other documents submitted to the Court must be signed by an attorney of record or by the party personally if he is unrepresented. In addition, Rule 2 of the Rules Governing § 2254 Cases states that a habeas corpus petition must be signed under penalty of perjury by the petitioner or by a person authorized to sign it for the petitioner. The petition submitted in this case has not been signed at all.
Also pursuant to Rule 2 of the Rules Governing § 2254 Cases, a habeas petition must substantially follow the form appended to the Rules or a form prescribed by local rule of court. The petition submitted by the petitioner does not substantially follow the form appended to the Rules.
Finally, the Petition was not accompanied either by the required $5.00 filing fee, or by an Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis (without prepaying costs and fees). This Court cannot review or consider a § 2254 habeas petition unless the petitioner has either submitted the filing fee or been granted leave to proceed without prepayment of fees and costs.
Accordingly, the Clerk is DIRECTED to send to the petitioner a blank § 2254 form and a blank Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis. The petitioner is hereby DIRECTED to submit to the Court his completed and signed (amended) habeas corpus petition, along with either the $5.00 filing fee or the completed Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis, both under the docket number 3:12-mc-00004, within 30 DAYS from the date of entry of this order on the docket.
The plaintiff is forewarned that, should he fail to comply with the instructions of the Court within the 30-day time limit, his petition will be denied and this action will be dismissed for failure to comply with the instructions of the Court and for want of prosecution. Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b).
It is so ORDERED.
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Todd Campbell
United States District Judge