Filing Certiorari Petition In Forma Pauperis

Filing a petition for writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court turns out to be quite a costly affair. The docket fee to be paid to the court itself is $300. Providing multiple copies of the petition (40) in the specified writ format on the Supreme Court paper also totals up to a pricey bill.

However, the law does not in any way disregard citizens who cannot afford to foot the fees and other expenses. Such litigants are given the latitude to file an in forma pauperis petition!

The Latin term simply translates to ‘in the form of a pauper’. Indigent petitioners who avail of this leeway are exempted from paying the fees and the filing requirements are also relaxed.

Setting the stage

Any and every petitioner cannot proceed to file in forma pauperis. They first need to apply to the court and gain express permission to do so.

Parties seeking in forma pauperis have to file a motion for leave to do so. They should state whether such leave was sought in another court, and the result thereof. This should be accompanied by a notarized affidavit or declaration.

The Supreme Court will first evaluate the party’s degree of indigence and decide accordingly. It should be noted that many motions are considered frivolous or

malicious, and are usually denied leave to proceed in forma pauperis. However, the petitioner can still file a motion to reconsider the denial.

After the initial denial, the petitioner is given a due date to file the petition for writ of certiorari in the regular writ format (Rule 33.1) on the Supreme Court paper and pay the filing fee.

Going ahead

If the petitioner is granted in forma pauperis, he is allowed certain deviations for filing the certiorari petitions. Such as:

• Regular sized 8½" x 11" paper can be used (Rule 33.2). But it should still be opaque, unglazed and white in color.
• The typescript need not be printed in the usual booklet format, just staple or bind it at the upper left hand corner.
• The petitioner has to file the original petition along with only 10 copies thereof.
• The original petition and every copy should be preceded by and attached to a copy of the motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis.
• If an inmate confined in an institution is proceeding in forma pauperis and is not represented by any counsel, he/she has to file only the original petition

and motion for leave. Nothing else is required.

• Every petition should however be submitted along with a proof of service to all opposing parties or their counsel.

All other rules and requirements apart from the above stated ones will continue to apply (Rules 12 and 14).

The opposing party is also allowed to respond in a similar in forma pauperis manner and needs to file only the original and 10 copies of the response. Moreover, the respondent can even separately challenge the motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis!

The final stage

Approximately two-thirds of certiorari petitions are filed in forma pauperis, that too mostly by prison inmates. However, another case in point is that hardly a

handful of in forma pauperis petitions are actually granted review by the Supreme Court.

In the rare case, that an in forma pauperis petition is actually granted certiorari and the case is set for oral arguments, the court will also appoint counsel for the

indigent party. The appointed counsel usually prepares the briefs under the Clerk’s supervision and any travel expenses are also reimbursed by the court itself.

If you would like to add anything further to in forma pauperis petitions, please mention in the comments section below.

The author, Petar Pattric, has a keen interest in learning the terms and tactics of law and over the years has gained critical insight into its functioning.