Three-Strikes Court Fees Rule Faces Scrutiny

WASHINGTON (CN) - Prisoners who bring multiple frivolous appeals are not eligible for federal fee waivers, but the Supreme Court agreed Thursday to clarify this rule.

At issue is the decision by a federal judge in Marquette, Mich., to dismiss a civil suit by Andre Lee Coleman-Bey for failure to pay court fees.

U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar found that Coleman was not eligible to proceed in forma pauperis under the three-strikes provision of the Prison Litigation Reform Act.

The case Coleman had filed pro se with Edgar alleged that six workers at the Baraga Correctional Facility had violated his rights under Section 1983.

Edgar found that Coleman already had three strikes from previous case dismissals, but Coleman claimed on appeal that the third dismissal should not have been counted because it was on appeal at the time he filed the fourth suit.

A three-judge panel with the 6th Circuit sided with the lower court in October 2013, leading Coleman to petition the Supreme Court for review.

The justices granted Coleman a writ Thursday. They did not otherwise comment on the case.

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