Nasa v. Brown

The trial court erred in denying the prison inmate's request to proceed in forma pauperis and directing the clerk not to file his pro se civil action, as the complaint stated a justiciable excessive force claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

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Prison inmate Susa Nasa sought to commence a pro se civil action under 42 USC § 1983 against two correctional officers listed as “Cert Officer N. Brown” and “Officer McClendon”. The superior court denied his request to proceed in forma pauperis and directed the clerk not to file the action. Nasa appeals, and we reverse for the reasons that follow. 1. Nasa filed a request to proceed in forma pauperis and an “Inmate Form for Civil Action” under 42 USC § 1983, alleging that the officers used excessive force by cuffing him and slamming his face into a wall. The superior court denied the filing, stating in its order: “Upon review of the following inmate form for civil filing, and the motion to proceed in forma pauperis, the Court determines that the filing is frivolous and the motion to proceed in forma pauperis is DENIED. The clerk is ordered not to file said action.”1

OCGA § 9-15-2 d permits a trial court to deny the filing of a complaint by an indigent pro se litigant if “the judge determines that the pleading shows on its face such a complete absence of any justiciable issue of law or fact that it cannot be reasonably believed that the court could grant any relief against any party named in the pleading.” “The pleadings of an inmate proceeding pro se are treated with considerable indulgence, and a complaint should not be dismissed without filing unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to some relief.”2 “On appeal from an order denying filing, we construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the losing party, and pro se complaints are not held to the stringent standards of formal pleadings.”3

Nasa v. Brown

The trial court erred in denying the prison inmate's request to proceed in forma pauperis and directing the clerk not to file his pro se civil action, as the complaint stated a justiciable excessive force claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

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