Opinion
3:24-CV-00178-LPR
10-30-2024
ERNEST TERRELL FRIAR, JR. ADC #660122 PLAINTIFF v. JACKSON COUNTY PAROLE AND PROBATION BOARD, et al. DEFENDANTS
ORDER
LEE P. RUDOFSKY UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Plaintiff Ernest Terrell Friar, Jr., detained at the Jackson County Detention Facility, filed a pro se complaint on October 1, 2024. Mr. Friar did not pay the $405 filing fee or seek to proceed with his case in forma pauperis. To proceed with this action, Mr. Friar must first, within 30 days from the entry of this Order, either pay the statutory filing fee or complete an application to proceed in forma pauperis. If he does not do one or the other within 30 days, his case will be dismissed without prejudice.
Compl. (Doc. 1).
Local Rule 5.5(c)(2).
The Prison Litigation Reform Act provides that a prisoner cannot proceed in forma pauperis “if the prisoner has, on 3 or more prior occasions, while incarcerated or detained in any facility, brought an action or appeal in a court of the United States that was dismissed on the grounds that it is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, unless the prisoner is under imminent danger of serious physical injury.” Prior to filing this lawsuit on October 1, 2024, Mr. Friar filed at least three actions that were dismissed for failing to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.
See Friar v. Jackson Cnty. Sheriff Dep't, Case No. 1:14-CV-00097-BSM (E.D. Ark.) (dismissed Dec. 12, 2014) (summarily affirmed on appeal); Friar v. Jackson Cnty. Sheriff Dep't et al., Case No. 1:16-CV-00027-BSM (E.D. Ark.) (dismissed May 31, 2016) (summarily affirmed on appeal); Friar v. Wrightsville Unit, Case No. 4:17-CV-00486-SWW (E.D. Ark.) (dismissed Sept. 27, 2017) (no appeal filed).
As a three-striker, Mr. Friar may proceed in forma pauperis only if he alleges facts that plausibly show he was in imminent danger of serious physical injury at the time he filed his Complaint. Although Mr. Friar's Complaint alleges that he has received death threats, it is unclear whether he is alleging that one or more of the Defendants is responsible for those threats. And from the facts alleged, the Court cannot determine whether those death threats plausibly placed Mr. Friar in imminent danger of serious physical injury. If Mr. Friar wishes to proceed under the “imminent danger” exception to the three-strikes rule, he will need to clarify these allegations in an amended complaint.
See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) (providing that three strikers should be granted permission to proceed in forma pauperis if they are “under imminent danger of serious physical injury”); Ashley v. Dilworth, 147 F.3d 715, 717 (8th Cir. 1998) (explaining that the exception applies only if the prisoner is in imminent danger “at the time of filing” and that “[a]llegations that the prisoner has faced imminent danger in the past are insufficient”).
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that:
1. To proceed with this lawsuit, Mr. Friar has thirty (30) days from the date of this order in which to (1) pay the $405 filing fee in full, or (2) complete an application to proceed in forma pauperis along with an amended complaint clarifying any “imminent danger” allegations.
2. The Clerk is directed to send Mr. Friar a prisoner Application to Proceed Without Prepayment of Fees and Affidavit, a blank § 1983 complaint, and a copy of this Order.
It appears that the file-marked copy of the Court's Order on Amicus Briefs that was mailed to Mr. Friar's last-known address was returned to the Court as undeliverable. See Doc. 5. It is Mr. Friar's duty to maintain a current address with the Court. See Local Rule 5.5(c)(2). Failure to respond in a timely manner to a communication from the Court may constitute grounds for dismissal. Id.
IT IS SO ORDERED.