govinfo:USCOURTS-casd-3_26-cv-01989-0

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 
 
DEMETRIUS SMITH, 
Plaintiff, 
vs. 
 
SAN DIEGO POLICE DEP’T, UNKNOWN 
POLICE OFFICERS, 
Defendants. 

 
ORDER: (1) DENYING MOTION 
TO PROCEED IN FORMA 
PAUPERIS [Dkt. 2]; 
 
(2) DISMISSING CIVIL ACTION 
WITHOUT PREJUDICE FOR 
FAILURE TO PAY FILING FEES 
REQUIRED BY 28 U.S.C. §1914(a); 
 
Plaintiff Demetrius Smith, currently detained at Los Colinas Detention Facility and 
proceeding pro se, has filed a civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Dkt. 1. In 
lieu of paying the filing fee required by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a), Plaintiff has also filed a 
motion to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). Dkt. 2. For 
the reasons stated below, the Court denies Plaintiff’s IFP motion and dismisses the action 
without prejudice. 
I. IFP MOTION 
A party may institute a civil action without prepaying the required filing fee if the 
Court grants leave to proceed IFP based on indigency. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a); Andrews v. 
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Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1051 (9th Cir. 2007). Plaintiffs who wish to proceed IFP must 
establish their inability to pay by filing an affidavit regarding their income and assets. See 
Escobedo v. Applebees, 787 F.3d 1226, 1234 (9th Cir. 2015). For prisoners to establish an 
inability to pay, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires submission of a “certified copy 
of the[ir] trust fund account statement (or institutional equivalent) for . . . the 6- month 
period immediately preceding the filing of the complaint.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1), (2); 
Andrews v. King, 398 F.3d 1113, 1119 (9th Cir. 2005). 
Here, Plaintiff’s IFP motion is incomplete because he has not included a certified 
copy of h is trust account statement for the six -month period immediately preceding the 
filing of his complaint. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2); S.D. Cal. CivLR 3.2. Without a 
certified trust account statement, the Court is unable to assess whether any initial partial 
filing fee may be required to initiate the prosecution of Plaintiff’s case. See 28 U.S.C. 
§ 1915(b)(1). Therefore, the IFP motion is denied. 
II. CONCLUSION AND ORDER 
Accordingly, the Court: 
(1) DENIES Plaintiff’s motion to p roceed IFP [Dkt. 2] and DISMISSES the 
action without prejudice. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(a) & 1914(a). 
(2) GRANTS Plaintiff forty-five (45) days from the date of this order to re-open 
his case by either: (a) prepaying the entire $40 5 civil filing and administrative fee in one 
lump-sum; or (b) filing a renewed motion to p roceed IFP , which includes a prison 
certificate, signed by a trust accounting official attesting as to h is trust account balances 
and deposits and/or a certified copy of his Inmate Statement Report for the 6-month period 
preceding the filing of h is Complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2) and S.D. Cal. 
CivLR 3.2(b). 
If Plaintiff chooses not to comply with this order by either paying the $405 civil 
filing fee and administrative fee in full by or submitting a properly supported IFP Motion 
within forty-five (45) days, this case will remain dismissed without prejudice and without 
further order of the Court based on Plaintiff’s failure to comply with 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). 
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(3) DIRECTS the Clerk of the Court to provide Plaintiff with a Court-approved 
form “Motion and Declaration in Support of Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis.” 
IT IS SO ORDERED. 
Dated: June 15, 2026 
 
 
 Hon. Jinsook Ohta 
 United States District Judge 
 
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