Anything less than the result here would seem completely unfair, no?
Leon Meyers is incarcerated and files a federal Section 1983 lawsuit against the Salinas Valley Medical staff and officials. He loses, and files an appeal with the Ninth Circuit, but doesn't have money to pay the $505 filing fee. So he requests and receives in forma pauperis status.
But later, the government moves to revoke Meyers' IFP status and dismiss his appeal because multiple prior lawsuits of his had been dismissed on the pleadings or as frivolous. The Ninth Circuit agrees, and orders Meyers to pay the filing fee or have his appeal dismissed. Meyers doesn't pay, so his appeal is dismissed.
Which is fine. That's what the law requires, and is the way these things work.
But here's the rub:
There's a law that says prisoners who get IFP status will have the filing fee taken out of their prison trust account through tiny monthly withdrawals. Which the government starts doing, even though the appeal has been dismissed. After several years, the prison has withdrawn the whole $505, at which point Meyers says: "Dude! I've now paid the entire filing fee. Either reinstate my appeal or give me my money back!"
At which point the government says: "No. We're not reinstating your appeal. Or giving you your money back, either."
Which seems profoundly unrighteous to me.
The Ninth Circuit adopts a similar view. It refuses to reinstate Meyers' appeal -- after all, the mandate has issued long ago -- but orders the prison to refund his $505. He didn't get to appeal. So he doesn't have to pay the filing fee. Makes sense.
P.S. - Can I also just quickly point out that California opposed Meyer's briefed and argued this appeal -- with five different lawyers from the California Solicitor General's office and the Attorney General's office -- over the whopping sum of $505. I'm not sure that was the most rational expenditure of public resources in the history of mankind. Maybe just give the guy his money back in the first place, and let the guy buy some Ramen noodles in the prison commissary?
