In the case of Smith v. Wrigley, the Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld the constitutionality of IC 34-10-1-3 which provides:
If an offender has filed at least three (3) civil actions in which a state court has dismissed the action or a claim under IC 34-58-1-2, the offender may not file a new complaint or petition as an indigent person under this chapter, unless a court determines the offender is in immediate danger of serious bodily injury.
Basically, this means that an inmate has to pay a filing fee before pursuing a suit after having had three prior suits dismissed as frivolous. This statute was passed after the Supreme Court struck down, at Mr. Smith’s request, a prior statute designed to limit frivolous litigation. That prior statute prohibited pursuing the claim at all. This statute just says the inmate has to pay the filing fee.
Mr. Smith, the most active appellate litigant in the state, so far as I can tell, will undoubtedly ask the Supreme Court to review this decision. I get the sense that the Court of Appeals is more annoyed by shotgun litigation by inmates than the Supreme Court, so it will be interesting to see if the Court of Appeals decision gets reviewed and, if so, whether it will stand.
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