Opinion
Case No. 16-cv-960-pp
07-13-2020
DEVONTE M. WILLIAMS, Plaintiff, v. TORRIA VAN BUREN, Defendant.
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S REQUEST TO USE HIS RELEASE ACCOUNT TO PAY REMAINING BALANCE OF CIVIL CASE FILING FEE (DKT. NO. 23)
Plaintiff Devonte M. Williams, who is representing himself, filed a letter asking the court to authorize the use of his release account to pay the remaining balance of his civil case filing fee. Dkt. No. 23. The court will deny the request.
The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) requires the court to collect filing fees from a "prisoner's account." 28 U.S.C. §1915(b). The term "prisoner's account" encompasses both a prisoner's release account and general account. Spence v. McCaughtry, 46 F. Supp. 2d 861, 862 (E.D. Wis. 1999). A federal court has the authority to order payment of the initial partial filing fee from a prisoner's release account, see Doty v. Doyle, 182 F. Supp. 2d 750, 751 (E.D. Wis. 2002), but it does not have the authority to order payment of any other costs from a prisoner's release account, see McCalla v. Thompson, No. 18-CV-1895-JPS, 2019 WL 3220551, at *2 (E.D. Wis. July 17, 2019). A prisoner's release account is a "restricted account maintained by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections to be used upon the prisoner's release from custody upon completion of his sentence." Wilson v. Anderson, No. 14-C-798, 2014 WL 3671878, at *3 (E.D. Wis. July 23, 2014) (citing Wis. Adm. Code §DOC 309.466). Permitting a prisoner to invade the release account could be detrimental to that prisoner's likelihood of success post-incarceration. See Wis. Admin. Code §DOC 309.466 (stating that disbursements from a prisoner's release account are authorized "for purposes that will aid the inmate's reintegration into the community.")
The court DENIES the plaintiff's request to use his release account to pay the remaining balance of his civil case filing fee. Dkt. No. 23.
Dated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this 13th day of July, 2020.
BY THE COURT:
/s/ _________
HON. PAMELA PEPPER
Chief United States District Judge