Opinion
CAUSE NO. 2:11-cr-53
03-31-2016
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. JOHN D. SMITH Defendants.
OPINION AND ORDER
John D. Smith, a pro se prisoner, has filed a Motion for Clarification and for Further Relief, which requests (a) clarification of a reference in my February 10, 2016 order (DE 202) to $8,000 seized by the government and (b) leave to file his civil action for return of property without payment of the filing fee. (DE 204.) I will grant the part of Smith's motion requesting clarification. However, I'm going to deny the second part of the motion because, as I made clear in my earlier order, Smith must file a petition to proceed in forma pauperis, if he wants to file a civil suit without paying the filing fee.
Accordingly: (a) the portion of Smith's motion (DE 204) requesting clarification is GRANTED, and I will enter an amended version of the February 10, 2016 order (DE 202); (b) the portion of the motion requesting leave to file without prepayment of fees is DENIED; (c) the clerk is DIRECTED to send Smith another blank non-prisoner in forma pauperis petition, along with a copy of this order and the corrected February 10, 2016 order (DE 205); (d) Smith is GRANTED a one-time extension of the deadline for paying the filing fee or filing an in forma pauperis petition until April 30, 2016; (e) if Smith pays the filing fee or files an in forma pauperis petition on or before April 30, 2016, the clerk is DIRECTED to: (i) create a new civil case with a new civil cause number using Smith's original motion (DE 174, 180); (ii) place on the new docket all briefs and orders materially related to the original motion (DE 179, 181, 182) or the current motion (DE 184, 197, 199); and (iii) assign the case to the undersigned, pursuant to Local Rule 40.1. Any such new civil action will be deemed filed on April 21, 2015 (the filing date of the original motion), and any further relief Smith requests beyond that granted in my July 2015 order will be addressed in the new case.
SO ORDERED.
ENTERED: March 31, 2016.
s/ Philip P. Simon
CHIEF JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT