ROBERTS
v.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA ET AL.
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The court held that citizenship for in forma pauperis proceedings is a matter of federal law, not state law, and a state prisoner is not automatically deprived of this status.
A state prisoner sought to proceed in forma pauperis in federal court. The district court denied this, relying on a state statute that stripped prison…
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Per Curiam.
Petitioner, who is confined in a California state prison, sought to file a petition in forma pauperis for a writ of injunction in the District Court below. That court denied leave to proceed in forma pauperis, holding that petitioner was not entitled to the benefits of 28 U. S. C. § 1915 because he was no longer a “citizen” as required by that section. The District Court reached that decision in reliance on California Penal Code § 2600, which provides that one sentenced to imprisonment for a term of years is deprived of his civil rights for the period of imprisonment. The decision of the District Court is in error. Citizenship for the purpose of in forma pauperis proceedings in the federal courts is solely a matter of federal law. Congress has not specified criminal convictions, except for desertion and treason, as grounds for loss of citizenship. 8 U. S. C. § 801.
Petitioner thereafter filed a motion in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for allowance of an appeal from the order of the District Court. The denial by a District Judge of a motion to proceed in forma pauperis is an appealable order. 28 U. S. C. § 1291; see Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp., 337 U. S. 541 (1949). The Court of Appeals, however, held that it had “no power to grant an application for allowance of an appeal,” and dismissed the petition.
Finally, petitioner filed in this Court a motion for leave to file a petition for a writ of mandamus to the District Court. Mandamus is an extraordinary remedy, available only in rare cases. Ex parte Collett, 337 U. S. 55, 72 (1949), and cases there cited. Because of the ambiguous state of this record, and the fact that a denial of this motion will not prejudice petitioner in further attempts to proceed in forma pauperis, the motion must be denied.
It is so ordered.
Mr. Justice Frankfurter took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.
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Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511 (U.S. 1985)…f cases. See also Helstoski v. Meanor, 442 U. S. 500 (1979) (Speech and Debate Clause immunity); Swift & Co. Packers v. Compania Colombiana Del Caribe, 339 U. S. 684 (1950) (order denying attachment of ship); Roberts v. United States District Court, 339 U. S. 844 (1950) (per curiam) (order denying right to proceed informa pauperis). Although absolute immunity is perhaps a more widely available claim, its ambit nonetheless remains restricted to officials performing a few extremely sensitive functions. See,…1 / 2
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Baltimore Contractors, Inc. v. Bodinger, 348 U.S. 176 (U.S. 1955)…statutory limitation of appeals to final decisions, i. e., judgments and decrees, Ex parte Tiffany, 252 U. S. 32, 36, has called for determinations of the characteristics of finality. Stack v. Boyle, 342 U. S. 1, 6; Roberts v. U. S. District Court, 339 U. S. 844, 845; Swift & Co. v. Compania Caribe, 339 U. S. 684, 688; Cohen v. Beneficial Loan Corp., 337 U. S. 541, 546; Cogen v. United States, 278 U. S. 221. Cf. Bandini Co. v. Superior Court, 284 U. S. 8, 14 — 15; Radio Station WOW v. Johnson, 326 U. S. 120…
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Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438 (U.S. 1962)…rder of the District Court denying relief, to which the time requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure would be applicable as they are to appeals in other ancillary post-conviction proceedings. Cf. Roberts v. United States District Court, 339 U. S. 844, 845. The court below has, by its own Rule 41 (b), required all persons seeking leave to appeal a judgment of the District Court in forma pauperis, to apply for such leave from the Court of Appeals within 30 days of the date on which their applicati…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Cohen v. Beneficial Indus. Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541 (U.S. 1949)
- Ex parte Collett, 337 U.S. 55 (U.S. 1949)