govinfo:USCOURTS-moed-4_26-cv-00158-1

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
 EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI 
 EASTERN DIVISION 
 
RODNEY A. CAMPBELL, ) 
 ) 
Plaintiff, ) 
 ) 
v. )  No. 4:26-cv-158-JSD 
 ) 
MADISON COUNTY JAIL, et al., ) 
 ) 
Defendants. ) 
 
 MEMORANDUM AND ORDER 
 This matter is before the Court on self -represented Plaintiff Rodney A. Campbell’s 
Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs. Based on Plaintiff’s 
financial information, the Court assesses an initial partial filing fee of $1 .00. Upon initial review, 
the Court will dismiss this action for frivolity. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i). 
Initial Partial Filing Fee 
A prisoner bringing a civil action is required to pay the full amount of the filing fee. 28 
U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). If the prisoner has insufficient funds in his prison account to pay the entire 
fee, the Court must assess and, when funds exist, collect an ini tial partial filing fee of 20% of the 
greater of (1) the average monthly deposits in the prisoner’s account, or (2) the average monthly 
balance in the prisoner’s account for the prior six-month period. After payment of the initial partial 
filing fee, the p risoner must make monthly payments of 20% of the preceding month’s income 
credited to the prisoner’s account. Id. § 1915(b)(2). The agency having custody of the prisoner will 
forward the monthly payments to the Clerk of Court each time the amount in the prisoner’s account 
exceeds $10, until the filing fee is fully paid. Id.  
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Plaintiff is a pretrial detainee at the St. Charles County Jail. In his signed and sworn motion 
to proceed without prepaying fees and costs, Plaintiff states that he is not employed, has no income, 
and has received no money in the past twelve months. ECF No. 3. In support of his motion, Plaintiff 
submitted a non -certified inmate account  statement showing account activity for a one -month 
period. ECF No. 3-1. According to that statement, Plaintiff has significant debt and minimal funds. 
Based on the financial information Plaintiff has submitted, the Court will assess an initial partial 
filing fee of $1.00. See Henderson v. Norris, 129 F.3d 481, 484 (8th Cir. 1997) (when a prisoner is 
unable to provide the Court with a certified copy of his prison account statement, the Court should 
assess an amount “that is reasonable, based on whatever information the  court has about the 
prisoner’s finances.”). If Plaintiff is unable to pay the initial partial  filing fee, he must submit a 
certified copy of his prison account statement in support of his claim. 
Background 
Based on an independent review of Court records, Plaintiff has filed more than 30 civil 
actions in this Court since December 2025. At least five of these actions have been dismissed as 
of the date of this Order, and the remainder are still pending. After filing the instant case, Plaintiff 
filed a nearly identical case on April 8, 2026 , in this Court. Campbell v. Sawyer, Case No. 4:26-
cv-531-NCC (E.D. Mo.). 
The Complaint 
Plaintiff brings this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action against the Madison County Jail in Illinois and 
Desiree A. Sawyer, Plaintiff’s mother. ECF No. 1. Plaintiff alleges that he was arrested by Fairview 
Heights police officers in March 2024 due to failure to register as a sex offender. Id. at. 3. Plaintiff 
contends that he was lawfully registered at the time of his arrest. Id. He claims that his mother 
bribed the Madison County Police “to weaponize their resources against me.” Id. at 4.  He claims 
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a conspiracy existed to keep him in jail  so that Madison County’s corruption would not be 
discovered. Id. He further claims a conspiracy between his mother and the City of Madison  to 
demolish his home so that his mother could steal his inheritance from him. Id.  
Discussion 
Federal law requires this Court to dismiss a complaint filed in forma pauperis if, among 
other reasons, it is frivolous. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). “[A] complaint … is frivolous where it 
lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact.” Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989).  
The term frivolous “embraces not only the inarguable legal conclusion, but also the fanciful 
factual allegation.” Id. Accordingly, the Court may dismiss “those claims whose factual 
contentions are clearly baseless,” id. at 327, including those “allegations that are ‘fanciful, 
fantastic, [or] delusional.’” Denton v. Hernandez, 504 U.S. 25, 32-33 (1992) (quoting Neitzke, 
490 U.S. at 325, 328). Although “[a]n in forma pauperis complaint may not be dismissed … 
simply because the [C]ourt finds the plaintiff’s allegations unlikely,” “a finding of factual 
frivolousness is appropriate when the facts alleged rise to the level of the irrational or the wholly 
incredible, whether or not there are judicially noticeable facts available to contradict them.”  Id. 
at 33. 
Having carefully reviewed and liberally construed Plaintiff’s complaint, the Court finds 
that the allegations are frivolous. Plaintiff alleges that his mother stole his inheritance, then 
bribed the Madison County Police Department to get Plaintiff illegally arrested and bribed the 
City of Madison to illegally demolish Plaintiff’s home. Plaintiff does not allege how the Fairview 
Heights Police Department is involved in this alleged conspiracy, even though they pulled 
Plaintiff over and conducted the arrest about which Plaintiff complains. The allegations 
contained in the complaint are fanciful and rise to the level of the irrational or wholly incredible. 
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See Denton, 504 U.S. at 32-33. Thus, they are subject to dismissal under 28 U.S.C. § 
1915(e)(2)(B)(i).     
For the same reasons, the Court is convinced that there would be no substantial question 
for review and that an appeal would be futile. Higgins v. Steele, 195 F.2d 366, 369 (8th Cir. 
1952). The Court will therefore certify that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. See id.; 
28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3).  
 Accordingly,  
 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s motion for leave to proceed in forma 
pauperis [ECF No. 3] is GRANTED. 
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, within 30 days of the date of this Order, Plaintiff 
must pay an initial filing fee of $1.00. Plaintiff is instructed to make his remittance payable to 
“Clerk, United States District Court,” and to include upon it: (1) his name; (2) his prison 
registration number; (3) the case number; and (4) the statement that the remittance is for an 
original proceeding. 
 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this action is DISMISSED without prejudice as 
frivolous. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i).   
 IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that an appeal from this dismissal would not be taken in 
good faith.  
 An Order of Dismissal will accompany this Memorandum and Order. 
 Dated this 27th day of May, 2026. 
 
    
  CRISTIAN M. STEVENS 
  UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE  
 
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