Opinion
No. 10 C 7025.
December 8, 2010
MEMORANDUM ORDER
On December 2, 2010 the Clerk's Office received a handwritten letter dated November 22 from Thomas Ryburn ("Ryburn") regarding this action, one of two that he had filed on the same date. In this instance Ryburn characterizes this Court's application of 28 U.S.C. § 1915 ("Section 1915"), charging him with the entire $350 filing fee payable in future installments, in this fashion:
Charging me this outrageous amount as a poor person, "contradicts" the term In Forma Pauperis.
But Ryburn must understand that the structure and requirements of that statute have been formulated by Congress and not by the federal courts. It is the courts' obligation to comply with the congressional directive, not to make law of their own. This Court may have its own views as to the fairness and efficacy of the Section 1915 response to what Congress may have regarded as a problem with prisoner litigation, but those views cannot be permitted to interfere with the enforcement of the congressional mandate.
Date: December 8, 2010