SIMPSON v. KNIGHT ( 2020 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA INDIANAPOLIS DIVISION EDWARD SIMPSON, ) Petitioner, Vv. No. 1:18-cv-04031-JPH-TAB WENDY KNIGHT, Respondent. Order on Request to Proceed on Appeal In Forma Pauperis The petitioner seeks leave to proceed on appeal without prepayment of the appellate fees of $505.00. An appeal may not be taken in forma pauperis if the trial court certifies that the appeal is not taken in good faith. 28 U.S.C. § 1915; see Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438 (1962). “Good faith” within the meaning of § 1915 must be judged by an objective, not a subjective, standard. See id. At this time, there is no objectively reasonable argument the petitioner could present to argue that the disposition of his petition was erroneous. In pursuing an appeal, therefore, the petitioner “is acting in bad faith . . . [because] to sue in bad faith means merely to sue on the basis of a frivolous claim, which is to say a claim that no reasonable person could suppose to have any merit.” Lee v. Clinton, 209 F.3d 1025, 1026 (7th Cir. 2000). Accordingly, his appeal is not taken in good faith, and for this reason his request for leave to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis, dkt. [25], is denied. SO ORDERED. Date: 8/17/2020 James Patrick Hanlon United States District Judge Southern District of Indiana Distribution: EDWARD SIMPSON 136480 PENDLETON - CIF CORRECTIONAL INDUSTRIAL FACILITY Electronic Service Participant – Court Only Abigail Recker INDIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL abigail.recker@atg.in.gov